How Diabetes Can Actually Affect Our Eyes

Diabetes is that phase in which our blood sugar levels within the body goes too high. However, it can affect the people of all ages. Actually, diabetes can cause many side effects to our overall health, but today I want to point out how it can show its impact on our eyes too.

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Diabetic Retinopathy, A Silent Enemy

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Many people with diabetes end up developing diseases of the eye that can damage vision and even cause blindness due to high and continuous levels of blood glucose. Unfortunately, diabetic retinopathy (the most common eye disease among people with diabetes) can be very advanced before it apparently shows any symptoms to our eyes, even though it has been damaging the blood vessels for some time.

According to data from the Spanish Diabetes Federation  (FEDE), this disease affects around 6 million people in Spain and is responsible for 16% of cases of blindness in that country. Therefore, those who have diabetes should undergo regular vision analysis to prevent any risk of diabetic retinopathy or other eye diseases linked to diabetes.

Symptoms of Diabetes In Our Eyes

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The damage caused by diabetes in the blood vessels of our eyes is usually not evident until the disease has significantly damaged the precious organ of sight. In any case, there are some symptoms to take into account, which should always be reviewed by an ophthalmologist to rule out other ocular lesions other than those related to diabetes:

•          Blurry or double vision
•          Rings, flashing lights or blind spots
•          Dark or floating spots
•          Pain or pressure in one or both eyes

Treatment

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Prevention is the best treatment for diabetic retinopathy. Strict control of blood sugar levels significantly decreases long-term vision loss, in addition to the control of others factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, etc. In this sense, the rest of treatments do not cure diabetic retinopathy but delay progression of vision loss. Among these treatments, we can find laser, vitrectomy and intravitreal injections.

Other Problems Associated With Our Eyes Related To Diabetes

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The NIDDK(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) talks about two different issues associated with diabetes that can affect our eyes: cataracts and glaucoma, although it is true that a non-diabetic person can suffer these two problems. However, it would be great if we take this too into consideration. We can even talk about diabetic macular edema as another of the most common eye diseases related to diabetes.

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Sam Khan