The longer the person has diabetes, the greater are his/her chances to develop diabetic retinopathy. Almost 80% of people, who have diabetes for 15 years or more, have some damage to the blood vessels in their retina. The other risk factors are high blood pressure, anemia, kidney diseases, and pregnancy.

There is no treatment that can prevent diabetic retinopathy altogether. Persons with any form of diabetes may develop diabetic retinopathy. But it has been proven that a good control of diabetes can delay and slow down the rate of progress of diabetic retinopathy and its complications. Besides a good control of blood sugar, one must exercise regularly, keep the blood pressure under control, avoid smoking, and avoid obesity.

You might not know that you are having diabetic retinopathy, as there are no symptoms in the earlier stages of the disease. Therefore it is essential to have periodic evaluation of your eye by our retina specialist in Pune to detect the condition early. Early diagnosis and timely treatment is very essential in preventing the complications of this disease and thus maintaining vision.

How frequently should I get my eye examined?

If you have diabetes, you should get a yearly examination with your ophthalmologist. Your pupils may be dilated with eye drops, so that your ophthalmologist may have a good look at the back of your eye. Once you develop diabetic retinopathy, then your ophthalmologist will advise you if you need some investigations, treatment or just need to follow up. In these cases the frequency of follow up visits is decided on basis of the severity of the disease.

What are the tests done for diabetic retinopathy?

Your vision is assessed by the usual charts. The back of your eye is examined after dilating your pupils, using an instrument called ophthalmoscope. Sometimes your ophthalmologist may advise a special test called Fluorescein angiography.

What is fluorescein angiography?

It is test in which a series of photographs of the retina are taken with the help of a special camera. These photographs are taken after giving the patient an injection of a yellow dye. This dye reaches the retina through the blood stream and helps in seeing the blood vessels of retina more clearly. This test helps the doctor to determine which areas to be treated with laser.