What Is Diabetic Retinopathy?
Diabetic retinopathy is a common eye disease. It is the leading cause of adult blindness in the United States. This condition occurs because of diabetes, especially unmanaged diabetes.
Thyroid eye disease and graves disease can also affect your eyes, but those conditions do not happen due to diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy damages the retina, consisting of the eye's nerves. The retina is crucial for vision since it absorbs light and sends images to your brain. You should visit our Thyroid Eye Wellness Center in Houston, TX, for top-notch eye disease treatment.
Types of Retinopathy
There are two primary types of diabetic retinopathy. These two are proliferative retinopathy and non-proliferative retinopathy. The small vessels in the back of your eye swell if you have non-proliferative retinopathy. These vessels form pouches and steal the retina's blood supply.
Proliferative Retinopathy
Proliferative retinopathy makes new blood vessels grow, meaning the retina does not receive enough blood. This condition creates new and weak blood vessels, which may even leak from these new blood vessels. Proliferative retinopathy can lead to blurred vision, floaters, and black spots showing up in one's field of vision.
Treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy
The treatment for diabetic retinopathy depends on what type of diabetic retinopathy you have and the severity. Generally speaking, diabetic retinopathy treatment is focused on preventing the eye disease from progressing further or at least slowing down its progression. Therefore, patients with mild non-proliferative retinopathy or moderate non-proliferative retinopathy might not require immediate eye disease treatment. However, our ophthalmologist will monitor your eyes closely to figure out when you could require treatment.
You can also talk to your endocrinologist to see if you can manage your diabetes more effectively. Reasonable blood sugar control can slow the progression of moderate or mild non-proliferative retinopathy. This control is all part of eye disease management.
Proliferative diabetic retinopathy is a different story. If you have this condition, immediate treatment is needed for proper eye disease management. Our ophthalmologist in Houston, TX, will inform you of your treatment options, including the injection of medication into your eye and panretinal photocoagulation. Diabetic retinopathy is entirely different from graves disease or thyroid eye disease.
Visit Thyroid Eyes in Houston, TX
You should stop by our Thyroid Eye Wellness Center if you are looking for a great ophthalmologist near me. We can provide you with the diabetic retinopathy treatment you need. Our ophthalmologist near me, Dr. Rosa Tang, is happy to help you in any way she can. Visit our Houston, TX, location today and learn how our care can benefit you. Then, contact our office at (713) 478-9123 to schedule an appointment.