Treatment For Diabetic Retinopathy: How Long Is Recovery Time?
Posted in Types on 11. Jan, 2010
Employee with very problematic attendance history says she is scheduled for treatment of diabetic retinopathy–treatment of bleeding or to fix it. Assuming true, what’s a realistic length of time to expect her to be absent from work?
She also says that perhaps she has partially detached retina. Wouldn’t that be an emergency requiring immediate treatment? Or am I wrong on that? Recovery time?
In mild cases, treatment for diabetic retinopathy is not necessary. Regular eye exams are critical, though, to monitor any progression. Strict control of blood sugar and blood pressure levels can greatly reduce or prevent diabetic retinopathy.
In more advanced cases, treatment is recommended to stop the damage of diabetic retinopathy and prevent vision loss.
I add a link which discusses this subject.http://www.stlukeseye.
com/Conditions
/DiabeticRetinopathy.asp
Detached retina is a serious eye condition that almost always leads to blindness if not treated promptly. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue that lies smoothly against the inside back wall of the eye. Underneath the retina is the choroid, a thin layer of blood vessels that supplies oxygen and nutrients to the retina. Retinal detachment occurs when the retina separates from this underlying layer of blood vessels. Unless it is surgically reattached, permanent vision loss can result.
Posterior Vitreous Detachment (PVD) is a common condition which occurs in about 75 per cent of people over the age of 65. As people get older the vitreous, a jelly-like substance inside the eye changes. This can cause Posterior Vitreous Detachment. Many people are not aware that they have developed PVD but some notice symptoms such as floaters or flashing lights. Floaters can take many forms from little dots, circles, lines, to clouds or cobwebs. Sometimes people experience one large floater which can be distracting and make things difficult to read. Unfortunately at the moment nothing can be done medically for this condition, usually people find that the symptoms calm down after about six months and people do eventually get used to living with the floaters. The brain tends to adapt to the floaters and eventually is able to ignore them, so they then only become a problem in very bright light. However, as the subject is an employee, this is not likely to be related due to the normal occurrence in over 65’s.
In all cases when specific medical information is required, you would be advised to consult a doctor or ophthalmologist
I add a link which discusses both conditionshttp://www.emedicine.
com/oph/topic410.htm
Hope this helps
I have retinopathy and had many laser procedures for that. I was in intense pain that day. But the next day it was like nothing happened, no pain at all. But that’s just me. Your employee’s case may be different. Tell them to get a note from their eye doctor.
I had a retinal detachment as well and that is an entirely different story. That is an invasive procedure and the recovery can take weeks if not months. If there is a retinal detachment the doctor will take them out of work immediatly–any exertion could make it worse, My doctor had me wait a week before deciding to have surgery, because the detachment might heal itself. But it usually does not. If the detachment does not get fixed, they could go blind in that eye.