How to Prevent Diabetes Retinopathy

Diabetes is a malfunction of body where body is retaining glucose and the blood sugar level becomes high. It is surprising that world highest diabetics are from India where more than 56.8 million people suffer, followed by China and America where 26.5 million population are effected.

Another surprising factor is diabetes is prevalent more in affluent class than rural and working class. It means lack of exercise, sedentary lifestyles and tension is the main cause for this disease. Some times it is also hereditary when one or both of the parents suffer from diabetics' like hood that their children are prone to it.

What happens in diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition when the body which normally uses food for energy the digested food is coveted into glucose which then taken by cell and converts in to energy. But in diabetes the process of break down and the blood sugar becomes high.

What happens?

But when body retains high blood sugar it leads to many diseases and other complications such a heart disease, kidney complications, temporary or permanent blindness. Hence, diabetes is also called the mother of host of other diseases.

What is a Diabetes Retinopathy?

Patient suffering from diabetes for more than ten years are likely to get effected by diabetes retinopathy. Diabetes retinopathy is complication of changes in the blood vessels of the retina. In diabetes retinopathy blood vessels swells and result in leaking of fluids. Retina is most important for our vision and when it is affected leads to impart of vision and blindness.

How the diabetes retinopathy does damage vision?
When the patient suffering from diabetes blood vessels of eyes get damaged and Fragile, abnormal blood vessels can develop and leak blood into the center of the eye, causing blurring vision. This is proliferative retinopathy and is the fourth and most advanced stage of the disease.

Fluid can leak into the center of the macula, the part of the eye where sharp, straight-ahead vision occurs. The fluid makes the macula swell and blurring vision. This condition is called macular edema. It can occur at any stage of diabetic retinopathy, although it is more likely to occur as the disease progresses. About half of the people with proliferative retinopathy also have macular edema.

What I have to do to reduce the risk of diabetes retinopathy.
Every year all diabetes patients should have their eyes examined, both for proliferative retinopathy as well as for macular edema.
It is seen that controlling elevated blood pressure and cholesterol can reduce the risk of vision loss. Controlling these will help your overall health as well as help protect your vision.

Prevention is better than cure; hence, to prevent progression of diabetic retinopathy, people with diabetes should control their levels of blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol.

Sources
Personnel
http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/diabetic/retinopathy.asp