Early Diabetic Retinopathy Can Be Treated and Reversed
Dr. Szirth says it’s often possible to “reverse” the early stages of diabetic retinopathy.
Early diabetic retinopathy generally does not call for any special eye treatments. Instead, you’ll be advised to use diet, exercise, or medication to improve your metabolic risk factors — namely, your blood sugar, blood pressure, and possibly your cholesterol levels. Put simply, the first treatment for diabetic retinopathy is good diabetes management.
“You have two things to do: You have to get your blood sugar under control, and you have to get your blood pressure under control. And if you will actually follow the regimen carefully, we can bring you back,” says Szirth.
Without screening, not all patients will be so lucky, and more severe damage may be permanent. “When some parts of the eye die, we can’t turn that around,” says Szirth. That’s why regular screening and early intervention can be so important. If eye damage is detected early, it may be treatable before it gets worse.
Targeted treatment for the eyes is not usually recommended until later stages. At that point, you will likely be asked to have comprehensive eye examinations as often as every few months to assess the condition’s progression. Ophthalmologists have several treatment options, including laser photocoagulation and antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) drugs.
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