How To Prevent Diabetic Retinopathy & Other Complications of Diabetes?

All of us should take simple measures to prevent the occurrence of all complications of diabetes. The fact is most of the devastating complications of diabetes can be prevented or at least minimized by taking few good steps in our day to day life. Let us see how we can prevent retinopathy, the eye affliction due to diabetes.

One of the most troublesome complication of diabetes is retinopathy, where the retina (very sensitive vision structure at the back of the eye) gets damaged, resulting in near permanent, total loss of vision.
This damage is more common in people whose diabetes is not properly controlled, are having diabetes for a very long time (several years), have other conditions like blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc.

Unfortunately, this condition can also affect those diabetics who are very careful with all the measures and have perfectly controlled sugar levels. One good news is that if detected very early, and treated promptly and adequately, severe vision loss can be prevented.

Only way to achieve this, as per well established international protocols, is to undergo detailed retina evaluation, also known as eye fundus evaluation, by an experienced ophthalmologist (eye doctor). This test is best done after putting pupil dilating eye drops, so that the entire retina is properly studied.

This should ideally be done at least once every year, if no abnormalities are detected and once every 6 months even if minor lesions start showing up. This test should be done even if one's vision is very clear, with or without spectacles, since in mild early stages of diabetic retinopathy, vision may still remain reasonably good, leading to delays in getting checked up. So, one should get this retina test done even without any symptoms of disturbed eye sight or any other difficulties.

In addition, if diabetic retinopathy has already started, it could indirectly indicate that kidney damage (called nephropathy) might also have started, or vice versa.

Being in alert mode and taking simple preventive steps could go a long way in preventing complications of diabetes.