Retinopathy is the most common eye complication in diabetic patients

In an interview with science and research service of KUMS Health News, Dr. Fariba Sheikhi Shushtri, an ophthalmologist, asserted that diabetic retinopathy is the most common diabetic eye disease, which is caused by retinal blood vessel changes., Dr. Sheikhi added that If you have diabetes, you should undergo a complete eye examination with dilated pupils at least once a year, and you need to remember that diabetic retinopathy can progress without symptoms and put you at risk of vision loss.

          She advised that if you have diabetic retinopathy, you should see an ophthalmologist with less frequent intervals. In fact, if patients with advanced retinopathy are treated on time and have regular visits and follow-up, the risk of blindness will decrease by 95%.
          According to Dr. Sheikhi, often, there are no symptoms in the early stages of the disease. At least once a year, a complete ophthalmological examination should be done for people with diabetes. Blurred vision is one of the symptoms of diabetic retinopathy, which may occur with swelling of the macula. Also, as she maintained, if blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina and then bleed, vision will be impaired.

 Stating that diabetic retinopathy and macular swelling are diagnosed through a complete eye examination, she added that patients who keep their sugar levels close to the normal range will need less laser treatment to treat diabetic retinopathy.

          According to Dr. Sheikhi, diabetic retinopathy has four stages. During the initial stages, the disease is mild and only the blood vessels of the retina are dilated, but then these vessels become blocked and the areas of the retina that are fed by these vessels will have complications. Pointing out that in the first three stages of diabetic retinopathy, no treatment is necessary unless the patient has macular swelling, she emphasized that to prevent the progression of diabetic retinopathy, patients with diabetes should control their blood pressure and fat. Highlighting that advanced retinopathy is treated with laser, she added: this treatment method causes abnormal blood vessels to be destroyed, and since a very large number of laser beams must be irradiated, more than one session is necessary for complete treatment. However, this treatment method might slightly disturb the patient's color vision and night vision.

‌          As Dr. Sheikhi stated, all patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes are at risk of this disease; therefore, patients with diabetes should be examined at least once a year. Under a thorough examination, the eyes are placed with dilated pupils. Diabetic retinopathy is more likely to develop in those who have had diabetes for a long time. Pointing out that diabetic retinopathy is one of the problems during pregnancy in patients with diabetes, she advised that to protect the eyesight, every pregnant woman with diabetes should undergo a full eye examination as soon as possible.