Your Eye Doctors in Naples Provide Treatment for Diabetic Eye Disease

Diabetics must manage their blood glucose levels through medication, diet, and exercise to prevent serious medical complications of diabetes. In addition to potentially suffering kidney disease, stroke, high blood pressure and neuropathy, diabetics may develop diabetic retinopathy as a result of unregulated blood sugar. Tiny blood vessels within the retina provide nutrients and oxygen essential for eye and vision health. Microvascular abnormalities such as aneurysms allow blood to leak into the retina, which interferes with the ability of the retina to send images to the optic nerve.

While new blood vessels are formed after old vessels burst and die, these new vessels are not healthy and leak blood as well. Continued hemorrhaging within the eye may cause irreversible damage to your retina as well as permanent loss of vision. To detect diabetic retinopathy before it causes vision problems, your eye doctors in Naples strongly recommend diabetics have annual or bi-annual eye exams.

Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is typically asymptomatic in its early stages. Vision difficulties only become noticeable after the retina has suffered from extensive blood vessel loss and constant leakage of blood into the eye.

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy, or late-stage diabetic retinopathy, involves widespread disruption of blood flow that triggers rapid growth of new vessels in the eye's vitreous and retina. These weak vessels will easily rupture and leak blood into the retina. In addition, untreated hemorrhaging in the retina encourages the accumulation of scar tissue that pulls on the retina, a condition potentially causing retinal detachment.

Macular edema could also occur at any stage of diabetic retinopathy. When fluid leaks into your eye's macula (the center area of the retina), the macula may swell and interfere with your vision.

In addition to double/blurred vision, people with diabetic retinopathy may also experience:

• Flashes of light (impending retinal detachment)
• Reddish "clouds" or streaks impeding your vision field
• Shadowy "floaters" invading your vision field
• Blind spots occurring anywhere in your vision field
• Reduced depth perception

Call Us Today To Schedule An Appointment!

If you are diabetic and have one or more of these symptoms, please call your eye doctors in Naples at 239-262-6288  as soon as possible to schedule an appointment for a comprehensive diabetic eye exam.