HOW CAN DIABETES AFFECT EYE HEALTH?

There are a number of diseases and afflictions that lead to eye diseases and other eye complications. The most notable eye-affecting disease that might surprise you is diabetes. When you think of diabetes you probably think of heart or kidney problems, few people actually associate eye diseases with diabetes. If diabetes is not well controlled, it can cause irreversible eye health complications. At Poudre Valley Eye Care in Fort Collins, we have years of experience is vision care and are familiar with the potential risks that diabetes can impose. Some of the main risks include:

BLURRED VISION

When diabetes gets out of control, it can cause your vision to become blurred. When this happens, sometimes people just think, “Huh, weird”, but this is indicative of a much larger concern. When your vision blurs, it’s often due to extra water being pulled into the eye lens. The excess water causes the eye to swell — creating the blurry sensation.

Avoid getting a different contact lens or glasses prescription if you think your vision is blurry from diabetes-related issues. Over time, the swelling will go down. So if you were to get a new vision correction prescription, once the swelling in the eye is reduced, your vision will become blurry again because the contact lenses or glasses are adjusted to the swollen eye.

BLOOD VESSEL DAMAGE

According to recent research, years of poorly regulated blood sugar will cause the excess sugar in your bloodstream to start breaking down the blood vessel lining in the retina. When the walls of the blood vessels in the retina become weak enough, the pressure from the bloodstream can exploit the weak areas of the vessels and cause them to bulge. This is similar to what happens when an inner tube has a structural weakness and you end up with a bulge in your bike tire. The bulging areas of your blood vessels can leak harmful proteins into your eye, causing swelling that makes it difficult to see and can potentially cause irreversible vision loss.

Even if your diabetes is well-controlled, it is wise to get regular eye exams to monitor and prevent any potential eye diseases or complications that can arise in the eye from diabetes. In the Fort Collins area, Poudre Valley Eye Care is the leading optometrist — get in touch with us today for a preventative eye exam.

CATARACTS

Cataracts are an eye disease where the normally clear lens of your eye becomes cloudy. It is similar to having a window with a child’s handprint on it — the surface is still clear, but it’s harder for light to get through and it appears a bit smudged and cloudy. Unlike a smudge on a window though, cataracts cannot be wiped clean with a few minutes and some elbow grease. Cataracts often need surgery to correct properly.

Cataracts do not exclusively present themselves in people with diabetes. However, people with diabetes tend to get them earlier than people without. Additionally, cataracts tend to progress faster in people with diabetes than people without.

Many of the negative impacts of eye diseases like diabetes have on the eye can be combated by your eye doctor. The best way to make sure that your diabetes does not get a chance to cause problems for your vision care is to come in for regular eye exams. Eye exams are a quick and easy way to monitor your eye health and keep you seeing things clearly for years to come!