Diabetic Eye Disease

Overview

Diabetic eye disease is one of the major and devastating complication of diabetes mellitus. It is also the most common cause of blindness among adults. Almost everyone with diabetes has certain degree of eye disease after 20 years. The underlying mechanism of developing diabetic eye disease is due to capillary occlusion by high blood sugar, causing damage to structures of the eyes. The features of diabetic eye disease include floaters, blurred vision, double vision, impaired colour vision, dark or empty area in the visual field which will eventually lead to blindness if left untreated. It is even more devastating if complications such as bleeding into the eye, retinal detachment or glaucoma develops subsequently decapacitate one's daily activities. The treatment for diabetic eye disease includes a few laser modalities such as photocoagulation, pan-retinal photocoagulation, and surgery like vitrectomy. Patient education still plays the most important role when it comes to prevention of developing diabetic eye disease. They are frequently advised to control the blood sugar level by practising a healthy diet and lifestyle together with the aid of anti-diabetic medications prescribed by treating doctors.