What is the connection between diabetes and eyes? Why do diabetics need regular eye examinations?

Diabetes is a common chronic metabolic disease. With the diversification of people's production and lifestyle, the number of diabetes patients worldwide has been increasing year by year. Diabetes can have adverse effects on all systems of the patient's body, among which the eyes are an important damaged organ. The eyes are one of the important organs for the human body to perceive the world, and damage to their functions will have a serious impact on the patient's quality of life. Many people don't understand what is the relationship between diabetes and eyes? Why do diabetic patients need to check their eyes regularly? Let's talk about this topic below, I hope it will be helpful to you.

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1. The relationship between diabetes and eyes

Long-term high blood sugar levels can cause changes in various parts of the eye, leading to eye complications. The most common eye complication is diabetic retinopathy (DR), which is one of the most common eye complications in diabetic patients. High blood sugar can damage retinal blood vessels, leading to vascular lesions and angiogenesis, which in turn cause lesions such as retinal hemorrhage, retinal edema, and retinal detachment, and in severe cases can cause vision loss. In addition to diabetic retinopathy, diabetes may also cause other eye complications such as cataracts and glaucoma. High blood sugar can change the protein structure of the lens, causing lens opacity, which in turn affects vision. In addition, high blood sugar can also affect the excretion of aqueous humor in patients, leading to increased intraocular pressure, which in turn damages the optic nerve and causes glaucoma.

2. Reasons why diabetic patients need regular eye examinations

1. Prevention and early detection of diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common eye complications in patients with diabetes, and there are usually no obvious symptoms in the early stages. Regular eye examinations can help doctors detect signs of disease early and take appropriate treatment measures to prevent the disease from worsening.

2. Monitoring eye health

As mentioned above, in addition to diabetic retinopathy, diabetes can also lead to other eye complications, such as cataracts and glaucoma. Regular eye examinations can help your doctor monitor your eye health and detect and treat any eye problems in a timely manner.

3. Protect your eyesight

Eyes are one of our most important sense organs, and vision is vital to our daily lives. Regular eye examinations can help doctors detect and treat any problems that may affect vision, protecting patients' vision.

4. Providing guidance and advice

Ophthalmologists can provide diabetic patients with relevant guidance and suggestions based on the examination results, including how to control blood sugar, maintain good eye hygiene habits, and precautions. These instructions and suggestions are very important for patients to manage diabetes and protect eye health.

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3. How to treat eye diseases in diabetic patients?

1. Control blood sugar levels

Good blood sugar control is the basis for treating diabetic eye disease. By controlling blood sugar levels, you can slow down the damage of diabetes to the blood vessels in the eyes and reduce the risk of diabetic retinopathy. Patients need to follow the doctor's advice, monitor blood sugar levels regularly, and take appropriate treatments, such as medication, diet control, and moderate exercise.

2. Drug treatment

Anti-angiogenic drugs are one of the main drugs currently used to treat diabetic retinopathy. They inhibit the action of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), block the formation and leakage of abnormal blood vessels, and thus reduce the severity of the disease. These drugs are usually given by injection. Common anti-angiogenic drugs include abciximab (Aflibercept), rituximab (Ranibizumab) and bevacizumab (Bevacizumab).

Steroid drugs are also commonly used to treat diabetic retinopathy. They have anti-inflammatory and anti-vascular leakage effects and can reduce retinal damage. Steroid drugs can be given by eye injection or implant. Common steroid drugs include triamcinolone. Doctors will develop individualized drug treatment plans for different conditions and patient characteristics. Multiple injections or implants may be required during treatment to achieve the best therapeutic effect.

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3. Laser treatment

Laser therapy is a commonly used treatment for diabetic retinopathy. This method uses a laser beam to irradiate abnormal blood vessels in the retina, destroying these blood vessels and reducing leakage and bleeding, thereby protecting vision. Diabetic retinopathy is one of the common complications of diabetes, which causes retinal blood vessel damage and the formation of abnormal new blood vessels. These abnormal blood vessels are prone to leakage and rupture, leading to decreased vision and severe retinal bleeding.

Laser therapy uses concentrated light energy to act on abnormal blood vessels, generating heat energy to damage the blood vessel walls, thereby blocking leakage and bleeding from the abnormal blood vessels.

Laser treatment is usually performed under the guidance of an ophthalmologist, and pain can be relieved by local anesthesia or eye drops. The effectiveness of laser treatment varies from individual to individual. For early or moderate diabetic retinopathy, laser treatment can effectively control the progression of the disease and protect vision. However, for late or severe lesions, laser treatment may not be able to completely restore lost vision. It should be noted that laser treatment cannot cure diabetic retinopathy, it can only control the progression of the disease and protect existing vision. Therefore, in addition to receiving laser treatment, diabetic patients should also actively control blood sugar, blood pressure and blood lipids, perform fundus examinations regularly, and follow the doctor's advice for comprehensive treatment.

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4. Surgical treatment

For patients with severe diabetic retinopathy who do not respond well to medication, eye surgery may be needed to repair damage to the retina and restore vision. Common surgeries include vitrectomy and retinal reattachment.

Vitrectomy is a procedure that removes the cloudy vitreous inside the eyeball and clears out the hemorrhage and fibrotic tissue inside. This can reduce the traction and pressure on the retina and create conditions for retinal reattachment. After the operation, a transparent vitreous substitute will be injected into the eye to maintain the stability of the eyeball structure.

Retinal reattachment surgery is used to repair vision loss caused by retinal detachment. During the operation, the doctor will reposition the retina to the correct position and use laser or cryotherapy to fix the retina. This can restore the function of the retina and improve vision. Eye surgery is an important treatment option for severe diabetic retinopathy. However, the operation is risky and requires close attention and care after the operation. The recovery period after surgery may take several weeks or even months, and regular review and follow-up are required.

4. Recommended frequency of regular fundus examination for diabetic patients

After the first diagnosis of diabetes, it is recommended to have an eye examination as soon as possible to evaluate the condition of the retina. If the examination results are normal, it is recommended to have an eye examination once a year. If the fundus examination results of the diabetic patient are normal and no retinopathy is found, it is recommended to have an eye examination once a year. For diabetic patients with mild retinopathy, a fundus examination may be required every 6 months to closely monitor changes in the condition.

If diabetic patients have developed moderate or severe retinopathy, they may need to undergo fundus examinations more frequently, such as every 3-4 months. This allows for timely monitoring of changes in the condition and for appropriate treatment measures to be taken. It should be emphasized that the specific frequency of examinations should also be determined based on the individual patient's condition and the doctor's professional opinion.

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In short, diabetic patients should visit an ophthalmologist regularly and follow the doctor's advice for fundus examination and treatment.