Exudative Diabetic Retinopathy: Occurs when hemorrhages and fats affect the macula, which is necessary for central vision, used for reading.
Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy: arises when the disease of the blood vessels of the retina progresses, which causes the proliferation of new abnormal vessels that are called "neovasos". These new vessels are extremely fragile and can also bleed. In addition to bleeding, neovas can proliferate into the inside of the eye causing varying degrees of retinal destruction and impaired vision. Neovasal proliferation can also cause blindness as a result of retinal detachment.
Causes
Diabetes mellitus is the triggering factor of this disease, which prevents the human body from making adequate use of food, especially sugars. The specific problem is a deficient amount of the hormone insulin in diabetics.
Risk Groups
Diabetics have a risk of losing sight 25 times higher than those who do not. Diabetic retinopathy affects more than 75% of people with diabetes for more than 20 years.
Treatments
Careful management of diabetes with an adequate diet, use of hypoglycaemic pills, insulin or a combination of these treatments, prescribed by the endocrinologist, are the main way to prevent diabetic retinopathy.
Laser beam photocoagulation is the procedure by which small areas of the diseased retina are cauterized with the light of a laser beam in an attempt to prevent the bleeding process. Ideally, this treatment should be administered at the beginning of the disease, allowing better results, so it is extremely important to have regular visits to the ophthalmologist.
GLAUCOMA
Glaucoma is an eye disease that causes damage to the optic nerve and visual field, and can lead to blindness.
In most cases, it is accompanied by elevated intraocular pressure, but "low pressure" glaucoma may occur.
Glaucoma can be:
congenital: present at birth, newborns have enlarged eyeballs and blurred corneas. The treatment is surgical;
secondary: occurs after eye surgery, advanced cataracts, uveitis, diabetes, trauma or use of corticosteroids;
Chronic: Usually targets people over 35 years of age. One of the causes may be obstruction of the flow of a liquid that exists inside the eye called aqueous humor. In chronic glaucoma, the symptoms usually appear at an advanced stage, that is, the patient does not notice the loss of vision until experiencing the "tubular vision", which occurs when there is great loss of visual field (irreversible loss). If the disease is not treated, it can lead to blindness. Therefore, the annual ophthalmologic examination, preventive, is essential for early detection and treatment. In general the treatment is performed through eye drops, however, if the clinical treatment does not present satisfactory results, surgery becomes an option.
DMRI
It usually occurs after 60 years of age and affects the central area of the retina (macula), which degenerates with age. DMRI causes poor central vision (central spot), making it difficult to read.¹
Several factors may be associated or credited as favoring the appearance of macular degeneration. Light skin and blue or green eyes, excessive exposure to solar radiation, smoking, and a high-fat diet are factors that correspond to the increased incidence of age-related macular degeneration.²
In 90% of the affected patients, the so-called dry or non-exudative form of AMD is observed. The remaining 10% are exudative (characterized by the development of abnormal blood vessels under the retina.) The exudative form is primarily responsible for the devastating central visual loss referred to macular degeneration.²
The prevention and treatment of AMD is carried out using vitamins, antioxidants and dark or light glasses with UVA and UVB protection. A diet rich in green leafy vegetables and low in fat is beneficial in preventing AMD. As already mentioned, smoking increases the incidence of Macular Degeneration 2, so it should be avoided.
Damage to central vision is irreversible, but early detection and care can help control some of the effects of the disease.
In some cases laser photocoagulation is required.
Check out an example of vision with Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), compared to normal vision.
Posted by The Activist.
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