While the complications associated with diabetes are relatively well understood, there are a number of areas often overlooked by patients and doctors alike. One such area is the relationship between diabetes and your eyes. As such, if you suffer from diabetes, it's important you understand this relationship and how to protect yourself against any damage occurring.
The Effect of Diabetes on Your Eyes
While diabetes is typically associated with blood flow problems, it can also affect your eye in a number of different ways:
- Changes in your body's blood sugar level can cause your vision to become blurred, particularly if your diabetes isn't under control.
- Over time, your vision can become permanently 'cloudy', a condition known as a cataract.
- If your diabetes is particularly pronounced, you may be at risk of developing diabetic retinopathy. This an extremely serious medical condition that affects the blood vessels supplying the retina.
While many sufferers of diabetes don't develop eye problems, those who do can suffer from chronic conditions that do not go away with treatment. As such, it's important you understand the risks present so you can take steps before permanent damage has developed.
Diabetic Retinopathy
As mentioned, diabetic retinopathy is the most severe complication that can occur as a result of diabetes. This condition targets the blood vessels located behind the eye, causing them to become blocked or scarred. If this condition is allowed to develop without interruption, it can cause severe damage to the retina and may lead to drastically reduced vision or even blindness.
Typically, diabetic retinopathy is divided into two categories – background and proliferative.
Background Retinopathy
Background retinopathy is the most common form of retinopathy that develops in diabetes sufferers. Fortunately, it is also the least damaging of the two and oftentimes doesn't cause significant effects to your field of vision.
With background retinopathy, the blood vessels in and around the retina are only slightly affected. Typically, these vessels will develop hemorrhages and cause the blood vessels in your eye to become larger and more prominent. With that said, these symptoms aren't usually dangerous unless the condition spreads to the macula.
With background retinopathy, it is highly likely your vision will remain normal and you won't experience any adverse effects. It is possible the hemorrhages may cause a secretion of blood or fluid which can be extremely worrying to patients. However, so long as your doctor keeps a close check on these blood vessels it is possible to stop the condition developing into more serious conditions.
Prolific Retinopathy
Prolific retinopathy doesn't usually develop immediately; rather, it is caused by the development of background retinopathy that hasn't been monitored. With prolific retinopathy, the blood vessels in and around the retina become blocked. Over time, these blockages can cause a restriction in the amount of oxygen that reaches the eye, causing vision to become unclear and cloudy.
The pressure exerted on your eye causes your body to grow new blood vessels in an attempt to repair any damage that has occurred. However, these new blood vessels typically aren't strong enough to support your eye and can develop problems of their own. The most common problem seen in these replacement blood vessels is hemorrhages.
Hemorrhages that develop in secondary blood vessels are more dangerous than normal as the secondary blood vessels are forced to grow on the surface of the retina. As such, any hemorrhages that leak blood or secrete fluid can cause damage to the surface of the eye, resulting in complications related to your vision.
Reducing Your Risk of Eye Complications
The options available to reduce your risk of eye complications depends on the type of diabetes you suffer from. While Type 1 diabetics are usually treated with medication, there are a number of lifestyle choices Type 2 sufferers can implement to help control the development of eye problems:
- Managing your blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
- Maintaining an active lifestyle with regular exercise and a focus on staying at a healthy weight.
- Stopping smoking as smoking can increase your blood sugar level which exacerbates the symptoms of diabetes.
- Ensuring you visit your doctor or optometrist for regular eye screening.
While the above tips won't guarantee avoiding eye problems, they will help to control the extent of any complications. However, if you are worried about your diabetes having an effect on your vision, you should visit your eye doctor immediately to undergo a thorough assessment and to learn more about the status of your eyes.
Share