Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy
Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy
The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources
for Diabetic Retinopathy includes the 6
symptoms listed below:
Research symptoms & diagnosis of Diabetic Retinopathy:
Diabetic Retinopathy: Complications
Review medical complications possibly associated with Diabetic Retinopathy:
Diabetic Retinopathy Symptoms: Book Excerpts
Diagnostic Testing
Diagnostic testing of medical conditions related to Diabetic Retinopathy:
- Ordinary doctor eye exam - not fully adequate; may not detect non-advanced cases.
- Dilated eye exam - best performed by eye specialist
- Eye test (vision test) - not useful; only detects very advanced cases of retinopathy.
- Dye test (fluorescein angiogram) - This is a special eye that that shows retinal circulation.
- more tests...»
Research More About Diabetic Retinopathy
Do I have Diabetic Retinopathy?
Diabetic Retinopathy: Medical Mistakes
Diabetic Retinopathy: Undiagnosed Conditions
Diseases that may be commonly undiagnosed in related medical areas:
Home Diagnostic Testing
Home medical tests related to Diabetic Retinopathy:
- High Cholesterol: Home Testing:
- High Blood Pressure: Home Testing
- Heart Health: Home Testing:
- Thyroid: Home Testing:
- Diet & Weight Loss: Home Testing:
- Adrenal Gland Health: Home Testing:
- Kidney Health: Home Testing:
- Diabetes: Related Home Testing:
- Vision & Eye Health: Home Testing:
- more home tests...»
Wrongly Diagnosed with Diabetic Retinopathy?
The list of other diseases or medical conditions
that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses
for Diabetic Retinopathy includes:
See the full list of 10
alternative diagnoses for Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic Retinopathy: Research Doctors & Specialists
- Diabetes & Endocrinology Specialists:
- Cholesterol Specialists:
- Cardiac (Heart) Specialists:
- Eye Health Specialists (Ophthalmology):
- Senior Health Specialists (Geriatrics):
- more specialists...»
Research all specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.
More about symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy:
More information about symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy and related conditions:
Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms
Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list
of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions,
or drug side effect causes of that symptom.
Medical Books Online about Diabetic Retinopathy
Medical Books Excerpts
Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Diabetic Retinopathy
are available from published medical books
for more detailed information about Diabetic Retinopathy.
Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.
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Patient Surveys for Diabetic Retinopathy
Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy: Online Medical Books
16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE!
Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration,
for more information about the symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy.
Retinal detachment:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Initially, the patient may complain of floating spots and recurrent flashes of light (photopsia). However, as detachment progresses, gradual, painless vision loss may be described as a veil, curtain, or cobweb that eliminates a portion of the visual field.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Vascular retinopathies:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Central retinal artery occlusion produces sudden, painless, unilateral loss of vision (partial or complete). It may follow amaurosis fugax or transient episodes of unilateral loss of vision lasting from a few seconds to minutes, probably due to vasospasm. This condition typically causes permanent blindness. However, some patients experience spontaneous resolution within hours and regain partial vision.
Central retinal vein occlusion causes reduced visual acuity, allowing perception of only hand movement and light. This condition is painless, except when it results in secondary neovascular glaucoma (uncontrolled proliferation of weak blood vessels). The prognosis is poor — some patients with this condition develop secondary glaucoma within 3 to 4 months after occlusion.
Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy produces changes in the lining of the retinal blood vessels that cause the vessels to leak plasma or fatty substances, which decrease or block blood flow (nonperfusion) within the retina. This disorder may also produce microaneurysms and small hemorrhages. Nonproliferative retinopathy causes no symptoms in some patients; in others, leakage of fluid into the macular region causes significant loss of central visual acuity (necessary for reading and driving) and diminished night vision.
Proliferative diabetic retinopathy produces fragile new blood vessels on the disk (neovascularization) and elsewhere in the fundus. These vessels can grow into the vitreous and then rupture, causing vitreous hemorrhage with corresponding sudden vision loss. Scar tissue that may form along the new blood vessels can pull on the retina, causing it to tear or even detach.
Symptoms of hypertensive retinopathy include blurred vision, often accompanied by headache. Ophthalmoscopic examination may reveal diffuse binocular narrowing, venular tortuosity, silver wire reflexes, macular stars, and swelling of the head of the optic nerve (disk edema). Severe, prolonged disease eventually produces blindness; mild, prolonged disease, visual defects.
Symptoms of sickle cell retinopathy include peripheral arteriolar occlusions, peripheral arteriovenous anastomoses, sea fan neurovascular fronds, vitreous hemorrhage as tractional forces and vitreous collapse tear fragile neovascular membranes and, with advanced disease, severe vitreous traction and retinal detachment.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Retinal detachment:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
Initially, the patient may complain of floating spots and recurrent flashes of light. But as detachment progresses, gradual, painless vision loss may be described as a veil, curtain, or cobweb that eliminates a portion of the visual field.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Vascular retinopathies:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
The following features characterize vascular retinopathy.
Central retinal artery occlusion
This type of occlusion produces sudden, painless, unilateral loss of vision (partial or complete). It may follow amaurosis fugax or transient episodes of unilateral loss of vision lasting from a few seconds to minutes, probably due to vasospasm.
This condition typically causes permanent loss of vision. However, some patients experience spontaneous resolution within hours and regain partial vision.
Central retinal vein occlusion
Occlusion of this type causes reduced visual acuity, allowing perception of only hand movement and light. This condition is painless, except when it results in secondary neovascular glaucoma (uncontrolled proliferation of weak blood vessels). Prognosis is poor — 5% to 20% of patients with this condition develop secondary glaucoma within 3 to 4 months after occlusion.
Diabetic retinopathy
Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy produces changes in the lining of the retinal blood vessels that cause the vessels to leak plasma or fatty substances, which decrease or block blood flow (nonperfusion) within the retina. This disorder may also produce microaneurysms and small hemorrhages.
Although nonproliferative retinopathy causes no symptoms in some patients, in others fluid leakage into the macular region causes significant loss of central visual acuity (necessary for reading and driving) and diminished night vision.
Proliferative diabetic retinopathy produces fragile new blood vessels on the disk and elsewhere in the fundus (neovascularization). These vessels can grow into the vitreous and then rupture, causing vitreous hemorrhage with corresponding sudden vision loss.
Scar tissue that may form along the new blood vessels can pull on the retina, causing macular distortion and even retinal detachment.
Hypertensive retinopathy
Symptoms of hypertensive retinopathy depend on the location of retinopathy. For example, mild visual disturbances such as blurred vision result from retinopathy located near the macula.
Without treatment, the prognosis is poor (50% of patients become blind within 5 years). With treatment, the prognosis varies with the severity of the disorder. Severe, prolonged disease eventually produces blindness; mild, prolonged disease, visual defects.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy:
Keep your eyes healthy: NIDDK (Excerpt)
You may not get any signs of diabetes retina damage or you may get one
or more signs:
- Blurry or double vision
- Rings, flashing lights, or blank spots
- Dark or floating spots
- Pain or pressure in one or both of your eyes
- Trouble seeing things out of the corners of your eyes.
(Source: excerpt from
Keep your eyes healthy: NIDDK)
Are You at Risk for Diabetic Eye Disease: NEI (Excerpt)
Often there are none in the early stages of the disease. Vision
may not change until the disease becomes severe. Nor is there any
pain.
Blurred vision may occur when the macula--the part of the retina
that provides sharp, central vision--swells from the leaking fluid.
This condition is called macular edema. If new vessels have grown on
the surface of the retina, they can bleed into the eye, blocking
vision. But, even in more advanced cases, the disease may progress a
long way without symptoms. That is why regular eye examinations for
people with diabetes are so important. (Source: excerpt from Are You at Risk for Diabetic Eye Disease: NEI)
Facts About Diabetic Retinopathy: NEI (Excerpt)
Diabetic retinopathy
often has no early warning signs. At some point, though, you may
have macular edema. It blurs vision, making it hard to do things
like read and drive. In some cases, your vision will get better or
worse during the day. (Source: excerpt from Facts About Diabetic Retinopathy: NEI)
Facts About Diabetic Retinopathy: NEI (Excerpt)
As new blood vessels form at the back of the eye, they can bleed
(hemorrhage) and blur vision. The first time this happens it may not
be very severe. In most cases, it will leave just a few specks of
blood, or spots, floating in your vision. They often go away after a
few hours.
These spots are often followed within a few days or weeks by a
much greater leakage of blood. The blood will blur your vision. In
extreme cases, a person will only be able to tell light from dark in
that eye. It may take the blood anywhere from a few days to months
or even years to clear from the inside of your eye. In some cases,
the blood will not clear. You should be aware that large hemorrhages
tend to happen more than once, often during sleep. (Source: excerpt from Facts About Diabetic Retinopathy: NEI)
Diabetic Retinopathy as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions
When considering symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy, it is also important to consider Diabetic Retinopathy as a possible cause of other medical conditions.
The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Diabetic Retinopathy may cause:
- (Source - Diseases Database)
Diabetic Retinopathy as a symptom:
For a more detailed analysis of Diabetic Retinopathy as a symptom, including causes, drug side effect causes, and drug interaction causes, please see our Symptom Center information for Diabetic Retinopathy.
Diabetic Retinopathy: Onset and Incubation
Onset of Diabetic Retinopathy: After 20 years of diabetes, nearly all patients with type 1 diabetes and >60% of patients with type 2 diabetes have some degree of retinopathy.
Medical articles and books on symptoms:
These general reference articles may be of interest
in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:
Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis
About signs and symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy:
The symptom information on this page
attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy.
This signs and symptoms information for Diabetic Retinopathy has been gathered from various sources,
may not be fully accurate,
and may not be the full list of Diabetic Retinopathy signs or Diabetic Retinopathy symptoms.
Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy may vary on an individual basis for each patient.
Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they
are indeed Diabetic Retinopathy symptoms.
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» Next page: Diagnostic Tests for Diabetic Retinopathy
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