The two main enemies of the retina are diabetes and hypertension. Diabetes and hypertension diseases devastating affect all systems of the body and have the greatest effect on the eyes. The eye problems caused by diabetes is called diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is the most common cause of diabetes-related blindness.

Diabetes damage organs capillary system of the vessels especially in the kidneys, neural system and eyes. Those are the target organs. Diabetes is closely related to the eye as it affects the capillaries. The irregularity of blood sugar with long duration of diabetes cause especially the retina layer, to be affected. It causes loss in the vascular capillary structure in the retina layer of the eye (vascular layer-retina layer), fluid leakage out of the vessel and bleeding in to the tissue. If no precautions are taken during this process, it progresses and causes what we call edema in the visual center (macular edema), and thus central vision gradually decreases. Loss in the vascular capillary system causes malnutrition in the retina, which causes new abnormal neovascular vessel membrane structure there. These new neovascular vessels are not resistant like normal ones. They are prone to bleeding and leakeage quickly. If untreated, they cause bleeding in the middle layer of the eye (vitreus) and cause sudden vision loss. In more advanced cases, there may traction memebrane and cause separation retina(tractional retinal detachment). The fact that there are some main reasons casuse of visual lost in diabetic retinopathy ; occlusion of retinal capillary vessels, fluid leakage and hemorrhage and neovasular memebrane formation. As the amount of these occlude capillary vessels increases, the retina produces new neovascular vessels to feed itself. However, these newly formed vessels are weak-walled and tend to bleed, and one day they bleed, and caused sudden decreases of vision. If it is not intervened and progress continues, these new vessels may develop in various areas of the eye and make traction and detach the retina or increase intraocular pressure, leading to irreversible blindness.

The Basic Criteria in the Precaution can be summarized as follows:

• Blood sugar control
• Cholesterol level control
• Blood pressure control
• Regular ophthalmologist check-up and treatment if necessary

How is Argon Laser Used in Diabetic Retinopathy?

Argon laser is used for the treatment of vascular deterioration in the retinal layers of the eyes of diabetic patients, which we call diabetic retinopathy, in particular. It can be used in the stage of diabetic retinopathy from preproliferative stage to advanced diabetic retinopathy. The aim is to clear abnormal vessels, eliminate edema in the visual center and reduce the retina's need for oxygen. The working principle of the argon laser is to repair the vessels with a process called photocoagulation with laser beam.

How Often Should a Patient with Diabetes Have an Eye Examination?

A diabetic patient who is seen by an ophthalmologist and is told that there is no diabetic problem in the retina should be examined once a year, and a patient with mild diabetic retinopathy should have a retinal examination once every 6 months if the doctor has not been called sooner. Apart from this, the eye doctor should be contacted immediately when there is any problem in vision. Thus, many serious problems that may occur with early diagnosis and early treatment will be prevented. It should be known that diabetic retiropathy, which leads to blindness when ignored, can be prevented by timely administration of the treatment and the patient's diet and tight control, and routine eye examinations should not be neglected.