Are kidney and eye problems related?

Various kidney problems are related to eye disorders, the most common being diabetic nephropathy. Most patients with diabetic nephropathy, a condition affecting the kidneys in diabetics, invariably have diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy is treatable when diagnosed early. Most patients are unaware of their retina condition as they have never visited a retina specialist. It is important to understand that diabetic retinopathy does not have any symptoms to start off with. A patient can be asymptomatic till the last stages of the diseases. Hence it is mandatory that every diabetic patient gets a yearly retina check up done to rule out diabetic retinopathy especially if he or she has diabetic nephropathy and the serum creatinine levels are raised.