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What is Diabetic Retinopathy?

Maintaining the health of your eyes is essential. Otherwise, a medical condition could cause irreparable damage, causing you to lose visual acuity or your ability to see.

If you suffer from diabetes, you could be at risk for diabetic retinopathy, a harmful condition that can rob you of your vision. Here’s what you need to know about this damaging eye disease.

What is Diabetic Retinopathy?

Diabetic retinopathy, in the simplest terms, is an eye disease that can occur in people who have diabetes and rob them of their vision. High blood sugar levels (blood glucose levels) can damage the blood vessels in the retina. Damaged blood vessels can lead to swelling and even leaking. In some cases, the blood vessels close, preventing blood from flowing properly in the eye. In both of those cases, your vision can be compromised, leading to diminished clarity or partial or full blindness.

At times, diabetic retinopathy can lead to the growth of new blood vessels on the retina. When this occurs, damage to your vision is possible, including falling acuity and even varying degrees of blindness.

Those in the initial stages of diabetic retinopathy may not know they have the condition. Often, the earliest symptoms can only be spotted during a thorough eye exam. However, noticeable symptoms do eventually occur, including blurriness, an increased number of floaters, vision changes, dark or black spots in the field of vision, declining night vision, and colors looking washed out or faded.

How is Diabetic Retinopathy Diagnosed?

First, your ophthalmologist will take a detailed medical history. As they proceed, they will ask you about any current medical conditions and whether you are experiencing any symptoms that could make you prone to diabetic retinopathy or indicate you may have the condition.

During an exam, the ophthalmologist uses drops to dilate your eyes, causing your pupils to widen. Then, they can examine your eye with a special lens, allowing them to look for signs of diabetic retinopathy.

In some cases, your ophthalmologist may perform a fluorescein angiography. A special dye is injected into a vein, typically in your arm. Then, once the dye reaches the blood vessels in your eye, images are captured with a special camera, letting your ophthalmologist to see any blockages, leaks, or abnormal blood vessel growth.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an alternative approach for closely examining the retina. A specialized machine scans the eye, providing highly detailed images that can help your ophthalmologist spot signs of diabetic retinopathy.

How is Diabetic Retinopathy Treated?

If your ophthalmologist diagnoses you with diabetic retinopathy, they may recommend certain treatments based on how the condition presents in your eyes. Typically, they will discuss blood sugar control options that can help slow the condition or even restore some of your vision.

They may also recommend an anti-VEGF medication, a prescription designed the limit swelling in the macula of the eye and potentially stop or reverse vision loss, or steroids, which also reduce inflammation. These medications are administered by a medical professional as it has to be given as an injection in the eye.

Laser surgery is another potential treatment. The lasers can seal leaking blood vessels and reduce swelling. They can also shrink intrusive blood vessels and potentially prevent them from recurring.

In more advanced cases, vitrectomy – a surgical procedure that removes blood from leaking vessels and vitreous gel toward the back of the eye – allows light to properly pass through the retina. This can help improve your vision and slow the progression of the condition.

If you are concerned about the health of your eyes or have not had a recent checkup, schedule an appointment at your nearest ECVA location today. Our skilled ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians work diligently to maintain the health of your eyes and to correct vision issues, ensuring your eyes remain in the best shape possible and you can see clearly.

BOOK AN APPOINTMENT TODAY!

If you have further questions or would like to schedule an appointment with one of the Ophthalmologists at Eye Care and Vision Associates please call 716.631-EYES (3937) or visit www.ecvaeyecare.com .

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The Telltale Signs Your Child Needs Glasses

Vision issues in children can be detrimental. Not being able to see clearly can cause a child to struggle in school or have problems reading and identifying objects. In some cases, it can even impact their safety, as not being able to see properly could cause them to miss potential hazards.

Detecting vision issues in children can be tricky for parents. Often, a child isn’t fully aware of changes in their ability to see, so they may not be able to tell you they are having problems seeing.

However, there are signs your child may need glasses. If you want to monitor the quality of your child’s eyesight, here are some signals they might need corrective lenses.

Squinting

If your child is having trouble focusing their eyes, they may start to squint. Squinting can limit the effects of a refractive error temporarily, so they may start doing it if their vision isn’t clear.

Head Tilting

Head tilting is an attempt to overcome a vision issue by changing the angle. If your child tilts their head when examining an object, they may have declining visual acuity.

Covering One Eye

Children that start covering one eye when they have clarity issues could be suffering from a range of vision conditions. Along with a decline in clarity, there could be an alignment issue, such as amblyopia (lazy eye).

Being Too Close to Screens and Books

When a child starts sitting closer to the television, brings digital devices nearer to their face, or practically buries their nose in a book, that is often a sign of declining visual acuity. If your child is nearsighted, being closer to the object increases clarity, making it easier to see.

Excessive Eye Rubbing

If your child starts rubbing their eyes frequently, they could be suffering from eye strain, a common symptom of vision changes. However, since it could also indicate other conditions, like conjunctivitis or allergies, it is best to see a medical professional to determine whether they need glasses or another form of treatment.

Headaches and Eye Pain

Children who struggle with eye pain or headaches near the end of the day could be overexerting their eyes in an attempt to compensate for poor vision. Since their eyes get to rest when they are sleeping, they may wake up feeling fine, only to experience the pain after they have spent some time trying to focus during the day.

Issues at School

If your child’s performance suddenly drops, they may be having vision trouble, causing them to struggle to read the board, books, assignments, or computer screens.

All the signs above could indicate that your child is struggling with declining vision and may need glasses. If you are concerned about your child’s eyesight, schedule an appointment at your nearest ECVA clinic today. Our experienced ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians work diligently to maintain the health of the eyes of our patients and to correct vision issues in patients of all ages, ensuring their eyes remain healthy and they can see clearly.

BOOK AN APPOINTMENT TODAY!

If you have further questions or would like to schedule an appointment with one of the Ophthalmologists at Eye Care and Vision Associates please call 716.631-EYES (3937) or visit www.ecvaeyecare.com .

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How do Blood Sugar Levels Affect Eyesight?

High blood sugar levels have a significant effect on eyesight, causing various conditions like blurry vision, cataracts, glaucoma, and retinopathy. What are these conditions and how to they result from high blood sugar levels? We’re going to talk about each one, their cause, and any treatment methods available.

Blurred Vision

When someone experiences blurred vision, it doesn’t necessarily warrant an eye exam, or a new lens prescription. High blood sugar levels cause swelling in the lens of the eye, temporarily causing changes in vision. The common remedy to this condition is simply getting blood sugar levels back into a target range. Before meals, this range is between 70-130 mg/dL. After meals, the target range is 180 mg/dL. Eyesight should return to normal within three months of regulated blood sugar levels.

Cataracts

Normally associated with aging, cataracts are a common condition among all populations. They are a result of proteins in the lens of the eye becoming clumped together, forming a cloudy area of the lens. Cataracts may present as blurred vision or even vision that takes on a brownish tint. People who live with diabetes are more likely to get cataracts earlier in life, and the progression of the condition is much faster. The only treatment of cataracts involves surgery to remove the cloudy lens and replace it with a clear, artificial one.

Glaucoma

When fluid cannot properly drain from the eye, pressure increases. That pressure has the ability to damage nerves and blood vessels, which ultimately changes a person’s vision. The most common type of glaucoma is open-angle glaucoma, which can be treated with medicines that specifically target the drainage of the eye. They speed up the drainage, lower the pressure within the eye, and reduce the liquid that the eye makes. Routine eye exams will allow your doctor to identify glaucoma, likely before a person feels the first symptoms or has major vision loss.

Other forms of glaucoma present with symptoms like headaches, eye pain, blurry vision, watery eyes, and vision loss. Treatments for these forms of glaucoma are medicine, eye drops, surgery, and laser treatments.

With regard to diabetes, those who have issues with high blood sugar levels are also at an increased risk of getting a condition called neovascular glaucoma. This condition causes new blood vessels to grow on the iris of the eye, blocking the natural flow of fluid and increasing eye pressure. It may require laser surgery or implants that aid in fluid drainage.

Diabetic Retinopathy

The back of the eye contains a group of cells that process light, called the retina. The retina turns that light into images that the optic nerve can send to the brain. When small blood vessels in the retina become damaged from high blood sugar levels, a condition called diabetic retinopathy occurs. Without early treatment, a patient risks blindness. As long as the patient effectively manages thier diabetes, the chances of experiencing diabetic retinopathy remain low.

If someone has a diagnosis of eye issues that are related to diabetes, the best thing they can do is take preventative measures to ensure their vision doesn’t worsen. Focusing on regulating blood sugar levels aids in preventing new problems while also slowing the progression of issues they currently experience. People with diabetes should also consider keeping a regular schedule for eye exams to monitor any vision complications.

Book an Appointment Today!

If you have further questions or would like to schedule an appointment with one of the Ophthalmologists at Eye Care and Vision Associates please call 716.631-EYES (3937) or visit www.ecvaeyecare.com .