Home > Understanding diabetes > Diabetic retinopathy
This is a complication of diabetes which affects the eyes and if left untreated could lead to blindness.
It damages the retina behind the eyes.
It has no warning signs, so frequent checks on them are vital. Usually you will be checked once a year.
You will have eye drops put in to enlarge your pupils, they sting when they are put in. I always end up blinking and the doctor has to make sure that they go in.
Your vision will be blurry for a while and it will be difficult to read while you are waiting.
Then there will be pictures taken of the inside of your eyes. The doctors will then look at it and see if you have any problems or not.
After that you will find that you may have problems seeing, especially if it's a bright sunny day. Always wear sunglasses and don't drive. After a while the pupils of your eyes will go back to normal.
Sometimes they will tell you that there is mild bleeding, but no further treatment will be given. Quite often it could simply be down to you straining your eyes.
The best thing that you can do is to make sure that you are reading in sufficient light and if you need glasses wear them.
Also it is important to keep your blood sugar levels under control.
If
left untreated the person will start to see spots in front of their
eyes, their vision then becomes blurry and eventually the person will
only see light from dark.
This is treated with laser eye treatment. That gets rid of all the abnormal blood vessels that are formed in the eye.
The eye is numbed and the patient sees flashes of light during the treatment. It may sting as well and after that the patient has to rest and cannot drive afterwards.
Sometimes taking Nepretin can help. Nepretin is a nutritional supplement that can help prevent this. It helps to replenish cells in the body and to clean and repair the blood vessels. It can also help prevent the need for surgery.
However the best thing to do is to keep your blood sugar levels under control.
This is done by taking aloe vera and other supplements along with your medication from the doctor.
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