What are the Different Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy?

Know about Different Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy 

People with diabetes are affected by diabetic retinopathy. It happens when a high sugar level causes significant damage to blood vessels in the retina. These blood vessels can cause leakage and swelling over time, or they can also close, causing blood to stop passing through. Although abnormal, new blood vessels start to grow on the retina. All these changes can cause vision loss. Knowing the different stages of diabetic retinopathy is crucial to starting early treatment and protecting your eyesight.

What Causes Diabetic Retinopathy?

The main energy source is glucose or blood sugar. However, too much glucose in the blood can be harmful. The pancreas releases the insulin hormone, which enables cells to absorb glucose for energy. If a patient is diabetic, the body does not absorb sufficient insulin or does not use it appropriately.

Thereby, it causes glucose to gradually accumulate in the blood. The presence of high blood sugar affects different parts of the body, including the eyes. Diabetic retinopathy not only weakens or damages the blood vessels in the eye, but it also develops new abnormal blood vessels in the retina.

What are the Different Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy?

Diabetic retinopathy is a general eye disease, further categorised into two segments and four stages. The two popular types of this disease include proliferative and nonproliferative. Nonproliferative denotes the initial stages of diseases, while proliferative denotes advanced stages. Let's continue exploring the different stages of diabetic retinopathy:

Stage 1: Mild Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

• This is diabetic retinopathy's initial stage and poses characteristics of tiny swelling areas in the blood vessels of the retina. These particular areas of swelling are commonly known as microaneurysms. Here, there lies a chance of fluid leakage into the retina, triggering swelling of the macula. This usually takes place near the centre of the retina.

Stage 2: Moderate Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

• The swelling of blood vessels increases at this stage, interrupting the blood flow into the retina. Thus, blood accumulation takes place here with other fluids in the macula.

Stage 3: Severe Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

• The blood vessels in the retina are blocked at this stage, causing a decrease in blood flow in this area. At this point, the body starts responding, and new blood vessels begin to grow in the retina.

Stage 4: Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

• This is the final and advanced stage. New blood vessels will form in the retina. There is a high risk of fluid leakage as well. This triggers problems in vision, including blindness, blurriness and vision loss.

What are the Main Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy?

During the nonproliferative stages, there are usually no symptoms of diabetic retinopathy. Thus, you should be aware of it. This is because leakage of blood vessels does not always take place in these stages.

In many cases, people do not face any symptoms unless the disease reaches a proliferative stage. However, an eye care specialist can detect diabetic retinopathy during the initial stages after a thorough examination before symptoms start appearing.

The common symptoms of diabetic retinopathy include:

• Blurriness
• Colour changes
• Poor vision at night
• Distortions in vision
• Rise in the number of eye floaters
• Reduced vision

How to Prevent Diabetic Retinopathy?

Properly managing blood sugar can help prevent diabetic retinopathy. This includes managing diabetes with a balanced meal, medication, and regular activities. Moreover, monitoring your blood sugar level regularly is essential, and consult your doctor if it is difficult to manage.

To maintain a healthy diet, include:

• Whole grains
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Low glycemic carbohydrates
• Legumes
• Low-fat diary
• Consume fish such as tuna and salmon
• Healthy fats (such as nuts and avocado)

Diabetic retinopathy can become serious if it is not treated early. By knowing the various stages of this disease, diabetic people can take the necessary steps to protect their vision. Close monitoring of eye checkups, blood sugar level management, and strict adherence to the doctor's advice are required to keep your eyes healthy. Early detection of vision problems lowers the chances of vision loss.

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