(630) 665-6560

1231 Butterfield Rd.

Wheaton, IL 60189

Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic Retinopathy Treatment at iCare4Vision in Wheaton, IL

If you concern yourself with common threats to human health, you may already be aware of the dangers of diabetes. This blood sugar disorder can have damaging effects on the entire body -- including the eyes, in the form of diabetic retinopathy. If you want to preserve your eyesight against this progressive destruction of the retina, you'll want to pay a visit to iCare4Vision in Wheaton, IL. Our Wheaton optometry clinic can detect even the earliest signs of diabetes-related retinal damage and recommend the proper treatment measures to keep the condition at bay.

diabetic retinopathy

Understanding Diabetic Retinopathy

To understand how diabetic retinopathy damages the eye, it's important to understand how diabetes affects the circulatory system. If your pancreas can't produce enough insulin to keep your blood sugar in check, or if your body has developed a resistance to that insulin, the excess sugar has destructive effects on blood vessels. The smaller and more fragile the blood vessels, the more badly they're damaged. The blood vessels that nourish the retina of the eye are very small and fragile, so they may be among the first vascular casualties of uncontrolled diabetes. The delicate blood vessels under the macula may break and leak, causing swelling that distorts vision. Meanwhile, the retinal tissue dies as it is deprived of its normal blood supply, causing irreversible vision loss.

The eyes' efforts to compensate for blood vessel damage can sometimes do more harm than good. A tangle of new, even weaker blood vessels may grow inside the eye, only to fall prey to diabetes-related damage and leak blood into the vitreous, the clear gel that fills the eye.

Diagnosis and Treatment Options From Our Wheaton Optometrist

Our Wheaton optometrist, Dr. Natalie Cepynsky, can help you control or even prevent diabetic retinopathy. Annual comprehensive eye exams are crucial because they allow us to examine the eye's interior in great detail. We can see signs of retinal damage, macular swelling, abnormal blood vessel formation and/or bleeding in the eye. The sooner we spot this condition, the sooner we can treat it.

Treatment for diabetic retinopathy centers on controlling underlying diabetes. We will urge you to work with your doctor to stabilize your blood sugar. Medication can slow or stop the formation of leaky blood vessels. Even if you haven't developed diabetic retinopathy, we can advise and educate you on smart preventative practices to keep your eyes as healthy as possible.

Let Us Protect Your Eyes Against Diabetic Retinopathy, Contact iCare4Vision Today!

Diabetic retinopathy does permanent damage, but you can put the brakes on it with the aid of our iCare4Vision in Wheaton, IL. Call us today at (630) 665-6560.