Diabetics: the need for eye screening

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Extract from the article: A complication of diabetes, diabetic retinopathy affected approximately 103 million diabetic patients in 2020, according to the International Diabetes Federation. When diabetes is not properly treated, it causes damage to the vessels of the eye, lead

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A complication of diabetes, diabetic retinopathy affected approximately 103 million diabetic patients in 2020, according to the International Diabetes Federation. When diabetes is not properly treated, it causes damage to the vessels of the eye, leading to a gradual decline in vision, which can result in total blindness.

Diabetics may develop infections in the eye. Professor Patrice Komi Balo, Ophthalmologist, Head of the « Sight & Vision » practice in Lomé explains: « Sometimes diabetics can develop cataracts. But when diabetes affects the back of the eye, i.e. the retina, it can lead to blindness. It is the complications of this disorder, called diabetic retinopathy, that can cause people to lose their sight when they have diabetes. The complications of retinopathy increase in proportion to the number of years one lives with diabetes ».

Despite adequate treatment, the danger remains

Even if the patient has access to diabetes care, retinal damage is not avoided. « The damage is relative to the number of years you live with diabetes. In other words, the longer you live with diabetes, the more likely you are to develop blindness. This is because when you have diabetes, the vessels in the retina become diseased. This is called micro-angiopathy », says Professor Komi Balo.

« In reality, it is the cells in the wall of these vessels that become altered, which prevents the blood from circulating and reaching areas of the eye that will lack oxygen. Eventually, the blood spills into the eye when it should be circulating in the vessels », the ophthalmologist continues.

Consequences of diabetic microangiopathy

Diabetic microangiopathy has two consequences: occlusion and hyperpermeability. « Occlusion in the long term will lead to ischaemia and hyperpermeability leads to blood spilling onto the retina. There may also be damage in inappropriate places and macular oedema. If the diabetic is not well monitored, he or she will one day become brutally blind », says Professor Komi Balo.

This is why, as soon as diabetes is discovered, « it is imperative to carry out an ophthalmological examination to see if there are lesions or not. Depending on the results of the examination, the patient will receive a follow-up schedule. When the lesions are not yet very advanced, a preventive treatment called laser treatment can be applied », the specialist recommends.

Glasses and the effects of diabetes on the eyes

« Glasses cannot be used to solve diabetes-related eye problems. But a diabetic may need glasses to correct his eyesight, if he is hyperopic or myopic, among other things. These eye anomalies have nothing to do with the eye complications of diabetes », says Professor Balo.

All diabetics should have an eye examination every year or every two years for diabetic patients with a low risk of eye complications.

William O.