Major Stages Of Diabetic Retinopathy
There are four major stages of diabetic retinopathy or diabetic eye disease. Following is the description of these four main stages of diabetic retinopathy:
Stage 1: Mild Non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) or early diabetic eye disease
It is the early stage of diabetic retinopathy or commonly known as diabetic eye disease. A majority of the people with diabetes suffer from diabetic retinopathy. In case of people with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), tiny blood vessels located in the retina start leaking thus swelling the retina. When the macula of the eye swells it turns to another eye disease known as macular edema. However, macular edema is the one of the most recurring reasons why people having diabetes tend to lose their vision.
In addition, people suffering from non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), the blood vessels gradually tend to close off completely which blocks the supply of nutrients to the retina. The complete blockage of blood vessels in the retina is known as macular ischemia in which the blood is not able to reach the macula as well. Sometimes little particles known as exudates can appear in the retina which can intensely affect the vision of a person. If a person has NPDR, the vision will be blurry but the possibility of complete vision loss is quite rare at this early stage of diabetic retinopathy.
Stage 2 : Severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy
A large portion of the blood vessels located in the retina suffer blockage leading to a significant decrease in blood flow to the retina. At the 3rd stage of diabetic retinopathy, the body starts receiving signals to begin growing newer, abnormal blood vessels in the retina.
Stage 3 : Moderate nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy
There is an increased swelling of tiny blood vessels which starts interfering with the blood flow towards the retina thus preventing proper nourishment. As a result, there is an accumulation of fluids and blood in the macula leading to macular edema. However, the risks of vision loss and other vision issues is increasingly high at this stage of diabetic retinopathy.
Stage 4: Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) or later stage diabetic eye disease
Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR)) or later stage diabetic eye disease occurs when the retina of the eye starts to grow newer blood vessels which is known as neovascularization. The newer blood vessels are fragile in structure and often start to bleed into the vitreous. If there is only a little bleeding inside the vitreous cavity then you might be able to see some dark floaters. However, if there is an increasing bleeding in the vitreous then it will eventually block all the sight making a person completely blind for a while.
The new and abnormal growth of blood vessels can also lead to the formation of scar tissues. These scar tissues can ultimately cause problems with the eye structure especially the macula which can lead to the detachment of retina. The proliferative diabetic retinopathy or PDR is a very severe medical condition that can steal a person from both the peripheral and central vision for life. (5)