Diagnosis of Diabetic Retinopathy

If you have diabetes, you should have your eyes examined at least once a year. Your eyes should be dilated during the exam. That means eyedrops are used to enlarge your pupils. This allows the eye care professional to see more of the inside of your eyes to check for signs of the disease.

In the early stages of diabetic retinopathy, you may not notice any changes in your vision. But if diabetic retinopathy reaches its final stage, proliferative retinopathy, bleeding can occur.

If this happens, at first, you will see a few specks of blood, or spots, floating in your vision. If spots occur, see your eye care professional as soon as possible.

You may need treatment before more serious bleeding or hemorrhages occur causing vision loss or possibly blindness. Hemorrhages tend to happen more than once, often during sleep.

Can diabetic retinopathy be treated-

Yes. Your eye care professional may suggest laser surgery in which a strong light beam is aimed onto the retina.

Laser surgery and appropriate follow-up care can reduce the risk of blindness by 90 percent. However, laser surgery often cannot restore vision that has already been lost. That is why finding diabetic retinopathy early is the best way to prevent vision loss.

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