Common Diabetic Eye Diseases and What You Need to Know
Diabetes affects many systems in your body. And while blood sugar levels may be one of your biggest concerns as a diabetic, it is important to understand that diabetes can also damage your eyes over time, leading to poor vision or even blindness. Fortunately there are steps you can take to prevent diabetic eye disease, or keep it from getting worse by managing your diabetes.
Ways Diabetics Can Keep Their Eyes Healthy
These are some of the best ways to manage your diabetes and keep your eyes healthy:
- Manage blood glucose
- Manage blood pressure
- Manage cholesterol
- Quit smoking
- Have a dilated eye exam once per year
Are There Warning Signs of Diabetic Eye Disease?
Often there are no warning signs of diabetic eye disease or vision loss when damage first develops. This is why getting a yearly dilated vision exam can help find and treat eye problems early. By catching it early, that means little vision loss generally occurs.
How Does Diabetes Affect My Eyes?
Having high blood sugar, or blood glucose, is what can affect your eyes. Essentially, high glucose changes fluid levels or causes swelling in the tissues of your eyes that help you focus, leading to blurred vision. This is generally temporary and goes away when your glucose level gets closer to normal.
In the short-term, you are likely to not have any vision loss. Some experience blurry vision for a few days or weeks when they are changing their care plan or medications.
If your glucose levels stay high over time, it can damage the small blood vessels in the back of your eyes. This damage can begin during prediabetes, when blood glucose is higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. Damaged blood vessels may leak fluid, causing swelling. New, weak blood vessels may also begin to grow and bleed into the middle part of the eye, leading to scarring or causing dangerously high pressure inside the eye.
The 4 Diabetic Eye Diseases that Can Damage Your Vision
Diabetic Retinopathy
The retina is the inner lining at the back of each eye, which senses light and turns it into signals that your brain decodes. Damaged blood vessels can harm the retina, leading to vision loss. In the early stages, blood vessels can weaken, bulge, or leak into the retina and is known as nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy. In later stages, blood vessels close off, causing new blood vessels to grow on the surface of the retina leading to serious vision issues. This later stage is called proliferative diabetic retinopathy.
Diabetic Macular Edema
The part of your retina that you need for reading, driving, and seeing faces is called the macula. Diabetes can lead to swelling in the macula. Over time, this disease can destroy the sharp vision in the part of the eye, leading to partial vision loss or blindness. Macular edema develops in people who already have other signs of diabetic retinopathy.
Glaucoma
This is a group of eye diseases that can damage the optic nerve (which connects the eye to the brain). Diabetes doubles your chances of having glaucoma, which can lead to vision loss and blindness if not treated early. Symptoms depend on which type of glaucoma you have.
Cataracts
The lenses of our eyes are clear to provide sharp vision, but as we age, they can become cloudy. People with diabetes are more likely to develop this cloudiness known as cataracts. Diabetics can develop them at an earlier age than non-diabetics. Researchers believe that high glucose levels cause deposits to build up in the lenses of your eyes.
Preventing and Treating Diabetic Eye Disease
The best thing you can do to preserve your health is to work closely with your care team, which should include your general doctor (for managing diabetes) and your eye doctor (for vision health). Keeping your blood glucose under control and receiving yearly dilated eye exams can help prevent or detect any eye damage in early stages. If damage is found, your eye doctor will prescribe treatment based on your eye condition and stage. The earlier the eye disease is found, the better your vision prognosis. That is why it is crucial that you have a yearly exam!
Let Our Experts Take Care of You and Your Vision Health!
Schedule your yearly dilated eye exam with Black Diamond Eye Care! Our doctors of optometry offer comprehensive eye care in a comfortable and welcoming environment.
