Can Diabetic Retinopathy be Reversed?

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Receiving a diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy can be quite frightening. After all, this condition can develop to a point where there is significant impaired vision, or even blindness. However, it’s helpful to see the diagnosis from a different perspective, since early diagnosis is key to stopping the condition’s progress in its tracks. Naturally, one of the most common questions that is asked by those diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy is whether the condition can be reversed. The answer isn’t simple. It usually depends on the stage of the disease when it’s detected and then the ongoing management of the underlying condition, which is diabetes.

The Importance of a Diabetic Eye Exam

If you have diabetes or pre-diabetes, it’s imperative to get regular diabetic eye exams in Burleson, TX. This simple step requires nothing more from you than booking the appointment with Vision Plaza and then keeping that appointment. During this exam, your optometrist will run a series of tests and examine your eyes visually. From there, they will be able to assess the health of your eyes as related to diabetic retinopathy. They’ll be able to see if it’s progressed or if the worsening development has been stopped.

What is Diabetic Retinopathy?

Because diabetic retinopathy progresses through several stages, how much damage is done depends a lot on when it’s detected, and when treatment begins. In the early stages, the blood vessels in the retina weaken and develop small bulges, which can leak fluid and blood into the retina. As the condition advances, new, abnormal blood vessels form on the surface of the retina, which bleed and cause scar tissue, leading to retinal detachment and, ultimately, vision loss.

Can Diabetic Retinopathy be Reversed?

The key to managing diabetic retinopathy is early detection and prompt intervention. Once damage has occurred, it’s generally not reversible. However, to clarify, the damage done by diabetic retinopathy is not reversible, but the progression of the condition may be halted and further damage prevented, if treatments and lifestyle changes take place.

Talk to your optometrist in Burleson, TX if you have diabetes or pre-diabetes. Early diagnosis will make a huge difference in how much your vision health can be protected. Contact Vision Plaza today to book your exam.

How Diabetic Retinopathy Develops

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As your optometrist in Burleson, TX, we want to stress the importance of avoiding diabetic retinopathy as much as possible. Early detection can have a dramatic impact on the eventual outcome, so visiting your optometrist often is a major factor in enjoying great vision your entire life. Here is some helpful information on how diabetic retinopathy develops so you can visit us as soon as you become aware of anything amiss.

Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy develops and worsens gradually, in stages. Each stage may be detected by an astute eye care professional.

Stage 1: Mild Nonproliferative Retinopathy

This is where small areas of balloon-like swelling called microaneurysms occur in the retina’s blood vessels. These might leak fluid into the retina, but at this stage, vision is typically unaffected. Note that this stage may be mistaken for simply having chronic red eyes.

Stage 2: Moderate Nonproliferative Retinopathy

As diabetic retinopathy worsens, the blood vessels that feed the retina become blocked to the point where vision is affected. The blockage restricts the blood supply to the retina, leading to even more significant leakage of blood and fluid. At this stage, there may be some blurriness of vision, particularly in the central vision area.

Stage 3: Severe Nonproliferative Retinopathy

In this advanced stage, a larger number of blood vessels become blocked, depriving several areas of the retina of their blood supply. These deprived areas send signals to the retina to grow new blood vessels.

Stage 4: Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

This last stage involves the growth of new, abnormal blood vessels. These new vessels are delicate and vulnerable to bleeding. Scar tissue formed from this process can cause the retina to detach from the back of the eye, leading to severe vision loss and potential blindness.

There’s no reason why this disease needs to progress through all four stages, especially when you’re under the care of an optometrist. If you have diabetes, visiting your eye doctor more often is an important step you can take to help ensure the ongoing health of your eyes.

By now you realize the importance of early detection of diabetic retinopathy. You can schedule yourself for diabetic exams in Burleson, TX at Vision Plaza. Contact us to book your appointment today!

Early Signs of Diabetic Retinopathy

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Your optometrist in Burleson, TX, offers a diabetic exam for diabetic retinopathy. Like other diseases, early detection plays a large role in positive outcomes. You can request a diabetic exam at any time simply by contacting Vision Plaza. But it’s also helpful to know that diabetic retinopathy doesn’t happen quickly. It progresses slowly over time, and plenty of early signs indicate that this may be happening to your eyes. Here are some things you can look out for at home:

Sparkles in Vision

Sparkles look like little flashes of bright light, and they’re a common early sign of developing diabetic retinopathy, even if they are temporary.

Poor Night Vision

If you notice that it’s harder to see at night or that it takes longer for your eyes to adjust when the lighting changes to dark, you should get a diabetic eye exam.

Temporary Blindness

In rare instances, a person may experience fleeting, temporary blindness. This is a frightening symptom that you should pay attention to since it’s an early sign of diabetic retinopathy.

Blurry Vision

Even if you need corrective eyewear, you may notice increased blurry vision or problems with your eye prescription no longer working as it should. Increased blurry vision is a common early sign of diabetic retinopathy and shouldn’t be ignored.

Causes of Diabetic Retinopathy

Certain risk factors make it more likely that a person will develop diabetic retinopathy as time goes on. Knowing these risk factors and possibly avoiding them may improve your odds of escaping this sight-threatening disease. Risk factors include:

  • excess alcohol consumption
  • obesity
  • unmanaged diabetes
  • poorly controlled high blood pressure
  • chronic high cholesterol
  • fewer doctor and optometric visits
  • excess sugar consumption
  • low-nutrient diet

Importance of Early Detection

Early detection through regular eye exams allows for timely treatment, which can significantly reduce the risk of blindness. Treatments may include more effective blood sugar management, laser treatment, medication injected into the eyes, or surgery in more advanced cases. These interventions aim to stop or slow the progression of damage to the retina.

Have you noticed any of the early signs of diabetic retinopathy listed above? If so, you should get a diabetic exam in Burleson, TX, as soon as possible. Contact Vision Plaza today to book an appointment.

Optometrist with senior patient

When Do You Need a Diabetic Eye Exam?

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Diabetes is a difficult disease for anyone to manage, particularly because it can have such wide-ranging consequences. From head to toe, people with it have to consider the consequences of numerous decisions they make throughout the course of the day. While your eye health may not be the first thing on your mind, though, it is worth keeping on your radar. Ideally, you should have an annual diabetic eye exam, and we’ll tell you why it’s worth taking the precaution.

Early Stages Don’t Always Have Signs

The earliest stages of certain eye disorders don’t always make themselves known. If you have a diabetes-related issue, you may not experience any pain, discomfort, or problems with your vision. A diabetic eye exam in Burleson, TX will go a couple of layers deeper than a regular eye exam, so you can be certain that your eyes are doing just fine.

Eye Exams Check for Multiple Conditions

An eye doctor in Burleson, TX will check your eyes for universal conditions, like glaucoma or cataracts. They’ll also look for things like diabetic retinopathy, a condition that damages the blood vessels of the retina. Whether you have Type I or Type II diabetes, your odds of developing this condition are relatively high (even if it takes a while to manifest). Around 80% of people who have had diabetes for two decades or more will develop retinopathy.

Diabetic Exams in Burleson

The difference between a regular eye and a diabetic one comes down to how the doctor processes your eye health. People with diabetes may have different reactions to threats than those without.

During the exam, a doctor or specialist will look carefully at the blood vessels with the help of eye drops. Once your pupils are dilated, they’ll be able to see how your blood vessels, optic nerves, and retina are all functioning together. If they see anything alarming, the next tests will involve anything from pressure tests to checking the cross-sections of your retina.

If you’re looking for a staff that understands the unique attributes of diabetes, Vision Plaza offers this service to patients who don’t want to take any chances. While a standard eye exam can reveal certain conditions, it’s important to go the extra step if you have diabetes.