How Does Diabetes Affect the Eyes?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 34.2 million people in the United States have diabetes. You may develop this chronic disease if your pancreas doesn't produce a sufficient amount of, or any, insulin. This leads to an excess of glucose in your blood. Glucose is a simple sugar that serves as a major metabolic source of energy. Over time, you may suffer from health problems if you have too much sugar in your blood. Some of its long-term complications are heart disease, stroke, and kidney issues. But did you know that diabetes can also affect your eyes? Here are some of the common eye problems a diabetic person may develop if their blood sugar level is left unchecked:

Blurry Vision

Have you noticed that things seem blurry? Don't buy a new pair of eyeglasses right away. If you've been diagnosed with diabetes, your high blood sugar is likely causing changes in your vision. Your lens may swell, affecting your ability to see. To correct this, all you need to do is bring back your blood sugar level to normal. Before a meal, the target range should be from 70 to 130 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). An hour or two after a meal, this should be less than 180 mg/dL. For some people, it may take about three months for their vision to get back to how it used to be. Just talk to your doctor. They will let you know whether your blurred vision is a symptom of a more serious health problem. 

 

Cataracts

Having a high blood sugar level can damage the blood vessels throughout your body. This includes the eyes' tiny blood vessels. When the disease affects these blood vessels, your risk of developing cataracts and other eye problems increases. Cataracts result from high sugar levels in your aqueous humor. This is the space between your eyeball and your corneal lens. When your blood sugar rises, your lens swells. This causes blurry vision. Additionally, uncontrolled blood sugar levels can cause the enzymes in your lens to convert glucose to sorbitol. It's a sugar formed from glucose. Too much sorbitol levels form deposits within your lens, causing cloudy vision.

 

Diabetic Retinopathy

This occurs when diabetes causes damage to the blood vessels of your retina. Your retina takes in light and turns them into images, which the optic nerve transmits to your brain. If not detected and treated early on, you may go blind from this condition. Diabetic retinopathy is the most common form of diabetic eye disease. According to the National Eye Institute, this disease is the primary cause of blindness in people aged 20 to 74. 

Besides blurry vision, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy, people with diabetes are also more likely to develop glaucoma. It's another eye problem that can lead to vision changes due to pressure buildup in the eye when fluid doesn't drain properly. 

The longer you have diabetes, the higher your risk of developing diabetic eye disease. Often, it's impossible to restore vision once it's lost. Keeping your blood sugar levels in control is key to delaying the progression of eye-related complications.

Protect your sight today by scheduling a comprehensive dilated eye exam regularly. Contact Primary Vision Care at our offices in Newark, Lancaster, Mount Vernon, Wilmington, and Waynesville, Ohio to learn more. You can call (740) 299-1155 (Newark), (740) 654-9909 (Lancaster), (740) 393-6010 (Mount Vernon), (937) 382-4933 (Wilmington) and (513) 897-2211 (Waynesville) to reach our offices.