8 Ways to Keep Diabetic Macular Edema From Progressing

Do you want to learn how to prevent diabetic macular edema (DME) from worsening and start maintaining your vision? A wise decision. Maintaining healthy vision is far easier from a medical aspect than regaining lost vision. With therapy and a diabetic management strategy, you can look forward to many years of excellent vision.

Lower high blood sugar

Blood sugar control is the most significant approach to slow DME progression. Blood glucose control that is optimized delays advancement. Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a degenerative eye condition caused by diabetes, causes DME. Damaged blood vessels in the retina and enlargement in the macula, or DME, are symptoms of DR.

As recommended, take your diabetes medications and monitor your blood sugar levels. Also, inquire about a hemoglobin A1C test, which displays your average blood sugar level over three months. Maintain a blood sugar level of less than 7%.

Control your blood pressure

Another number to keep an eye on is blood pressure (or hypertension). High blood pressure raises the risk of clogged retinal arteries. Even in the absence of diabetes, hypertension can damage the retina. Hypertension is a major risk factor for DR progression, and lowering blood pressure has been demonstrated to prevent DR-related visual loss. High blood pressure is defined as 130-139 or 80-89 in the upper number (systolic) and less than 80 in the lower number (diastolic).

Manage your cholesterol levels

Cholesterol is the last measurement to enter the healthy range. Not only will cardiac vessels be impacted if LDL cholesterol and triglycerides are too high over time, but so will retina vessels. In the same way that vascular damage happens in the heart, elevated blood lipids can cause vessel damage. When you have diabetes, it's critical to keep your cholesterol under control. A healthy amount of LDL cholesterol is less than 100 mg/dL, while a healthy level of triglycerides is fewer than 150 mg/dL, or 1.7 millimoles per liter (mmol/L).

Don’t be sedentary

We already know that exercise lowers blood sugar, which can help reduce DME progression. Making lifestyle changes, such as moving more and eating better, can help slow the progression of DR/DME and reduce other risk factors linked to worsening diabetes outcomes. The American Diabetes Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week. Break it up into intervals, and remember that vigorous walking counts!

Eat food that lowers blood sugar levels

A balanced diet can also help slow the progression of DME. That's the diet that works as long as you're meeting your A1C and fasting blood sugar objectives. Consume more fruits and vegetables and fewer processed foods. If you need some guidance, ask your doctor for a referral to a nutritionist.

Visit your eye doctor on a regular basis

To prevent DME from progressing, you need to see your eye doctor regularly and have a full dilated eye exam at least once a year. If you have Type 1 diabetes, your first full ophthalmic examination (with dilated pupils) should be 5 years after beginning and then once a year after that; if you have Type 2 diabetes, your first examination should be when you are diagnosed and then once a year after that.

Consider preventive treatment

If you have a kind of diabetic eye disease like DR but haven't begun DME treatment yet, talk to your eye doctor about preventive therapy. Fortunately, today's treatments are relatively painless and include anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (Anti-VEGF) injections, steroid implants, and/or laser treatments. Treatments for diseases that haven't yet affected your vision can be advantageous, particularly if you've lost vision in one eye due to diabetic eye disease and wish to protect your vision in the other eye, which hasn't yet acquired DME.

Stick to your DME treatment

Do you want to stop DME from getting worse? Then go to your treatments on time and don't skip any. Your eye doctor and team are well aware of the difficulties associated with DME therapy.