Keep an Eye on Diabetes

Dr Kasu Prasad Reddy, Chief Surgeon and Chairman, Maxivision Eye Hospitals, talks about the importance of comprehensive eye exam every year if one has increased risk of either diabetic eye disease or glaucoma

Diabetes, sugar, has high blood sugar levels. Uncontrolled diabetes, that is prolonged high levels of blood sugar leads to symptoms like increased thirst, urination and hunger. And further uncontrolled diabetes can effect health by effecting the eyes first, then the kidneys, foot ulcers, strokes, heart etc.

Eyes are considered as the window of the human body. Hidden and silent conditions like diabetes, glaucoma, blood pressure and other systemic conditions can be first seen through one's eyes.Eyes play a major role in diagnosing these conditions early and can be treated, saving eye sight and quality of life.

Diabetes with continuous uncontrolled high blood levels of glucose, sugar, can damage blood vessels. Eyes are the only windows of the body through which one can see the true nature of these blood vessels and ascertain the damage if any. Blood vessels in other parts of the body are hidden under the skin and require diangosis with high end equipments which is done away with in the case of eyes.

But it is important to get your eyes checked by a proper specialist who has the present day technological non-invasive equipments to detect these minute changes in the blood vessels.

Yearly eye test is mandatory and important for all to detect these changes in the blood vessels.

In diabetes the blood vessels in the retina, the camera film like layer in the back of the eye, can be seen early to see how damaged blood vessels leak the blood and serum to reduce the quality of retina, thus effecting the eye sight.

This leakage can be caught early in a yearly check-up before it deterioirates and damages completely.

Diagnosing early diabetic retinopathy helps to save the damage to the blood vessles and prevent the eye sight from further damage.

Treatment modules:

  Lasers

 Injections

 Surgery

Mandatory protocol for diabetics:

  Yearly examination is a must.

  If diabetes is uncontrolled doctors advise for six monthly check-up's

  Changes in retina due to diabetic retinopathy require examination on a three monthly basis to decide the course of treatment.

  Controlling sugar levels and blood pressure is important before taking up any form of treatment.