While diabetes may be related to difficulties with managing blood sugar, there is nothing sweet about this disease. If not handled carefully, it can ravage multiple organs in the body, including the eyes. What do you need to know about diabetes and eyesight to protect your vision?
Diabetes and Eyesight
As Johns Hopkins Medicine explains, diabetes causes the body to struggle to manage glucose, or blood sugar. Unfortunately, excess blood sugar in the bloodstream can damage blood vessels and nerves throughout the body, including those present in the eyes. As a result, diabetes that is undiagnosed or poorly managed can be a significant threat to your vision and the health of your eyes. However, knowledge is empowering. By taking charge of your vision care and being proactive, you can work with an eye doctor and your healthcare team to safeguard your vision. Basically, being aware of the common problems with diabetes and eyesight can prepare you to make smart choices.
What Are Common Eye Issues That Diabetics Face?
Diabetes can cause serious eye damage. Eventually, it may even result in blindness. As the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases reports, there are several conditions that diabetics can face:
- Diabetic retinopathy. When blood vessels in the retina leak or grow abnormally, your ability to see the world clearly and unimpeded can quickly falter.
- Diabetic macular edema. The macula is the area of the retina needed for sharp focal tasks like reading, driving, or recognizing faces. When diabetes causes this section to swell, it provokes vision loss or blindness.
- Glaucoma. The optic nerve connects the eyes to the brain. Glaucoma occurs when this connection is damaged. Sadly, diabetes can damage it. Symptoms vary. It depends on the exact damage done to the nerve.
- Cataracts. When the lens in the eye becomes cloudy, the condition is called cataracts. While this often comes with age, diabetics tend to develop the problem sooner.
What Can Diabetics Do to Protect Their Eyesight?
While diabetes certainly has the potential to be very harmful, people living with this disease are not helpless. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention points out that there are several things that you can do to protect your eyesight and prevent or delay the onset of diabetic eye diseases:
- Manage your blood sugar. Keeping your blood sugar in a healthy range protects your eyes. Over time, high blood sugar can damage blood vessels in the eyes. It can also trigger blurry vision and alter the shape of your lenses. Keeping your sugar low helps you avoid these issues.
- Get a dilated eye exam. Undergoing a yearly dilated eye exam allows your eye doctor to catch troubles early so that you can begin treatment as quickly as possible.
- Be active. Being physically active is good for your eyes, your diabetes management, and your overall health.
- Don’t smoke. Avoiding smoking helps to protect you against diabetes-related eye diseases and many other health conditions.
- Be mindful of blood pressure and cholesterol. Keeping blood pressure and cholesterol levels in a healthy range protects your eyes. As a bonus, it also benefits other systems in the body.
- Communicate with your eye doctor. If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, make sure that your eye doctor is aware of it so that they can work with you to safeguard your eye health. Be sure to alert them to any concerns or changes to your visions, especially if they happen suddenly.
To learn more, check out our blog post How Does Diabetes Affect the Eyes?
Are you looking for a new eye doctor? Stop by Heffington’s if you live in southwest Missouri. Since 1975, the Heffington family has been assisting the Springfield community with top-quality eye care and affordable eyeglasses and contacts. One of the unique features of our family-owned business is that we manufacture lenses at our own laboratory, giving us total control over the service and pricing, and we’re happy to pass our savings on to you. To learn more about our products and services, please get in touch with us online, send an e-mail to [email protected], or give us a call at 417-869-3937 (Optiland location) or 417-882-3937 (House of Vision location). We look forward to hearing from you!