What are the symptoms of diabetic retinaopathy?
• Can remain asymptomatic even till late stages. • Common symptoms are blurring of vision, floaters and sudden loss of vision. • Advanced diabetic retinopathy can lead to secondary glaucoma causing painful visual loss. How often should a diabetic patient have eye checkups? • Once diabetes has been diagnosed yearly checkups is a must. • If diabetic changes on the retina starts occuring, checkups should be as per the ophthalmologists advise. Treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy • Apart from checking vision and testing glasses, a detailed examination of the retina is performed after dilatation of the pupil. • Fundus Fluorescein Angiography may be required for some patient in which a dye is injected into the arm vein followed by taking a series of photographs of the retina. • Laser photocoagulation • Surgery in advanced stage where removal of clotted blood inside the eye (vitrectomy) or repair of a detached retina becomes necessary. Is laser treatment, a complicated procedure? add fundus – F
