Local Ophthalmologist Urges Diabetics to Take Care of Their Vision

Dr. Eric Shnayder, board certified ophthalmologist in Kinnelon, New Jersey, spoke Wednesday at Chilton Hospital about the vision risks facing diabetics. The most prominent is diabetic retinopathy, which happens to be the number one cause of blindness in the developed world. 

Dr. Shnayder, who owns and operates New Jersey Eye MD, said treatments can arrest its progression, but not restore lost vision.  Diabetes, he noted, also increases your risk of having glaucoma, cataracts, and other serious eye problems.  The doctor emphasized that diabetics should learn about these diabetes-related eye diseases and what they can do to protect their vision.  

Diabetes is a common disease in which blood-sugar levels are chronically too high.  The disease has many related complications, and several eye diseases among them.  The most common eye complication of diabetes is diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy occurs when high blood-sugar levels affect the functionality of blood vessels in the retina.  In early phases of the disease, capillaries will leak blood or fluid.  This can cause swelling in the retina, which may result in blurring of central vision. It can leak into the vitreous humor (the fluid surrounding the retina) causing floaters or obscuring vision.

During the beginning stage serious vision damage is less likely, however, it can lead to a more advanced stage of the disease, called proliferative diabetic retinopathy.  In this form, blood vessels in the retina actually close off.  New blood vessels grow to make up for the lack of blood flow to the retina.  The new blood vessels unfortunately are accompanied by scarring and more leakage.  This can lead to serious vision loss and blindness.

Early symptoms of diabetic retinopathy may include: decreased night vision, floaters or obscuring vision and blurry vision.

Dr. Shnayder said the condition can typically be diagnosed by an ophthalmologist during an eye exam, long before noticeable vision symptoms occur and when more treatment options are still available.  Thus it is very important for those suffering from diabetes to have regular eye exams, to monitor for diabetic retinopathy and other complications.