“I started seeing blurry things in my left eye in October last year. I thought it was just because my eyes were a little tired, so I didn’t go to the hospital. In November, I started to feel that my eyesight decreased significantly, and I felt like flying mosquitoes. Then I went to the local hospital to have my eyes checked. I can only see a few fingers in front of my left eye, the intraocular pressure is 58mmHg, and the blood sugar is 23mmol/L. At that time, the doctor quickly lowered my blood sugar. Later, the doctor diagnosed me with diabetic retinopathy in both eyes and neovascular glaucoma in the left eye. , I prescribed some eye drops to lower the intraocular pressure at that time, but the intraocular pressure still could not be lowered, and now I can no longer see the light, I am completely blind, and my left eye is often distended and painful, and sometimes the side of my head still hurts, and it hurts I can’t even sleep.” Xiao Zhang told about his condition in the consultation room of Nie Li, the deputy chief physician of the Glaucoma Department of the Hangzhou Branch of Zhejiang Eye Hospital (Ophthalmology Hospital Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University).
Click to load the picture
Coke with milk tea p>
The 30-year-old man lost sight of his left eye
“You are only 30 years old this year, how long have you been diagnosed with diabetes?” Dr. Nie asked. Xiao Zhang’s mother hurriedly replied, “He didn’t know he had diabetes. It was the first time he went to the hospital to have his eyes checked.”
After inquiring about Xiao Zhang’s living and eating habits in detail, Dr. Nie learned that , Xiao Zhang likes to drink sugar-sweetened beverages such as milk tea and cola since he was a child, and even drink it as water every day.
Dr. Nie did a fundus examination for Xiao Zhang and found that the fundus of his left eye was very poor, with multiple hemorrhages in the fundus, a large number of retinal neovascularizations, and the optic nerve of the left eye had shrunk to white. Because Xiao Zhang’s left eye has no light perception, a large number of new blood vessels have secondary to glaucoma, and the intraocular pressure is still 50mmHg. Dr. Nie regretfully told Xiao Zhang and his mother that because the glaucoma is irreversible, there is no hope of regaining sight in the left eye. , If the intraocular pressure is not controlled by surgery, the corneal endothelium will be decompensated in the later stage, and the eye pain will be unbearable and very painful.
Xiao Zhang’s mother was so anxious that she was about to cry: “Let him drink less drinks and he won’t listen. How can diabetes be so serious? How can it be possible to see?”
>
Diabetes complications can cause blindness
“For the average person, it’s okay to drink a little sugary beverages, but for people with diabetes, these beverages contain sugar If the amount is very high, it is likely to cause diabetic complications, one of which is diabetic retinopathy. Especially in young patients, the development of retinopathy will be faster, so keep your mouth shut.”
“ Diabetic retinopathy, commonly known as sugar net, is the main cause of blindness in the world.” Dr. Nie said that everyone is familiar with diabetes, but few patients know that diabetes can cause eye complications and even blindness.
Diabetic retinopathy is the most important manifestation of diabetic microangiopathy, and it is a fundus disease with specific changes. As the disease progresses, symptoms of diabetic reticulopathy may include: floaters, blurred vision, double vision, shadows or blank areas in the visual field, and blindness.
Diabetic retinopathy can be divided into six stages: stage I microangioma can be accompanied by hemorrhagic plaques; stage II microangioma haemorrhages can see hard exudative plaques; stage III has cotton wool-like soft exudative plaques ;In stage IV, new blood vessels and intravitreal hemorrhage occur; in stage V, organic matter hyperplasia; in stage VI, secondary retinal detachment and blindness. The latter three stages are marked by the appearance of new blood vessels and are called proliferative retinopathy.
New blood vessels will lead to glaucoma
Dr. Nie introduced that diabetic patients are prone to diabetic retinopathy, which can induce the occurrence of glaucoma. “The development of diabetic retinopathy to a certain extent will cause fundus ischemia and hypoxia. The body’s compensatory function leads to the growth of new blood vessels in the retina, but the new blood vessels are relatively immature and easy to bleed, and the growth of the iris can easily cause the angle of the chamber to be covered by new blood vessels. When it is full, it will lead to the obstruction of the discharge of aqueous humor and cause the onset of glaucoma, which is clinically called neovascular glaucoma.”
What is glaucoma? Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases with characteristic optic nerve damage and visual field defect, which may damage the optic nerve and its visual pathway, eventually leading to visual impairment and even blindness. Patients with neovascular glaucoma often have severe headache in the later stage, which is extremely painful and seriously affects their quality of life.
Patients with diabetes should pay attention to fundus examination
“The onset of diabetic retinopathy is insidious, and patients may not have any ocular symptoms in the early stage. Causes different degrees of visual impairment, visual distortion, dark shadows and other symptoms, and may eventually develop into blindness. Young diabetic patients like this should pay more attention to the appearance of complications.” Dr. Nie said.
Dr. Nie reminded that diabetic patients should firstly control their blood sugar, and secondly, they should have regular professional eye examinations and professional assessment of the health of the fundus. In particular, if you have eye symptoms such as decreased vision, distortion of vision, flashes when looking at things, increased floating objects in front of your eyes, and shadows blocking things when you see things, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible. If the disease is not controlled and progresses to the neovascular glaucoma stage, it is even more important to pay attention. “Early treatment can save vision, but it’s too late to see a doctor. In Xiao Zhang’s case, when he came to see a doctor, he had no light perception, and his vision could not be restored. In the later stage, only surgery can be used to reduce intraocular pressure and reduce pain. It’s a pity. “