Diabetic retinopathy is a type of condition where people with diabetes experience problems with their eyes. This is primarily caused by high blood sugar levels, although other conditions can contribute to it as well. It is commonly found in seniors and adults who have lived with diabetes for at least 30 years. However, almost anyone with diabetes can be at risk, which means taking care of your eyes has become an increasingly important part of modern diabetic care.

There are two stages of diabetic retinopathy: nonproliferative and proliferative. Nonproliferative develops first before advancing to the proliferative stage, where scars form on the retina and blood vessel growth causes the eyes to bleed.

Fortunately, diabetic retinopathy can be examined and treated before it advances into the proliferative stage or more severely, blindness.

Diabetic Retinopathy Symptoms

Diabetic retinopathy can display signs that may appear similar to a simple aging of the eyes, but should nevertheless be inspected and confirmed as diabetic retinopathy symptoms.

Once your eyes start to age and weaken, they may swell and block the pathway that light uses to enter through. Some of these symptoms include:

• Blurry vision
• Seeing rings or "floaters"
• Seeing near-complete darkness
• Difficulty seeing out of the periphery
• Missing areas of vision

If these symptoms are not addressed early, they could turn more serious by causing bleeding in the eyes (proliferative stage) or possibly blindness.

Diabetic Retinopathy Treatment

Prevention is the best form of diabetic retinopathy treatment you can practice on your own. By taking control of your blood sugar levels, cholesterol, and overall health, you can avoid much of the difficulty that diabetic retinopathy can exact on your body.

If you've already reached the nonproliferative stage of diabetic retinopathy, treatment may not be needed, as no form of treatment can reverse existing damages. At the same time, having eye exams taken on a regular basis could help monitor the condition and watch for progressing signs.

If your eyes have already gotten to the proliferative stage, there are several options to consider. Once your eye exam results show blood vessel growth in the retina or scars, surgery and medication are the next possible options in treating diabetic retinopathy.

One surgery that can stop diabetic retinopathy from advancing into blindness is vitrectomy, which is recommended only when there is bleeding in the eyes. It can be used to correct a number of conditions, including retinal detachment, which affects the tissue lining the inside of the eye. Other surgeries used to treat diabetic retinopathy include focal laser photocoagulation and panretinal photocoagulation.

There is also medication that can prevent blood vessels from growing in the eyes. Corticosteroids are one type of medication that can be injected into the eyeballs to stop the growth from happening.

If you have diabetes and are concerned about developing diabetic retinopathy, make an appointment with your doctor to get an eye exam done. Once the results come in, you can move forward in developing a treatment plan to minimize your chances of becoming severely blind, such as taking better care of your blood sugar levels and balancing medication.