If you suffer from diabetes, you may wonder how it could affect your vision. This can be a large concern, as uncontrolled blood sugar levels can cause damage to your eyesight over time. For this reason, becoming knowledgeable about this condition, and possible signs that you need further treatment, is critical. So, to help you learn more about how diabetes and your vision are related, let’s look at this subject in greater detail below.
Prevention is the key to keeping your eyes healthy, if you suffer from diabetes. Therefore, you need to be aware of the early signs that a problem is present, so you can take the appropriate steps right away. This will ensure that bigger issues don’t have the chance to develop, and that you have a good prognosis overall. It’s for this reason that it’s recommended for diabetics to have an annual eye exam to monitor any changes with their vision.
What kinds of issues are the most common? Experiencing cloudy vision, which some people describe as being blurry, is a typical complaint for people with diabetes. Why is this the case? If your body has high amounts of sugar within it, then this will draw fluid away from your eye’s tissues. The fact is that your lens or even your retina could be affected which ultimately result in difficulties with seeing clearly!
Further, if you suffer from diabetes, the chance that you’ll be diagnosed with cataracts increases too. These can cause blurry vision as well, as they are essentially a cloudy spot upon your eye’s lens. The good news is, your doctor will be able to catch this early in its progression, if you faithfully go to your scheduled checkups. Surgery can correct the problem, and this procedure is fairly straightforward today.
What other sorts of vision problems might occur? At times you may have little flecks or lines in your field of vision or, you may even experience loss of visual clarity! Why does this occur? Again, the high sugar content within your blood, places stress upon the tiny blood vessels which flow to your retina. They can weaken over time, and this may cause them to begin leaking or to become blocked. You won’t feel any pain or other symptoms at first, and it is only until you begin to have vision issues, that you’ll be aware that something is wrong. If it progresses, scar tissue may begin to form, as the blood vessels attempt to repair the damage. This scar tissue can pull the retina away from the rest of your eye, which is known as a detached retina. If this occurs, the you may see moving spots or a flashing light before your eyes or some other visual anomaly. If proper treatment isn’t sought, you could become totally blind.
Finally, glaucoma is another condition which you should be aware of. This is a common thing with diabetics and it increases the pressure on your optic nerve. Because this have a negative impact on your peripheral vision, you need screening for this condition on a regular basis. How is this done? The pupil dilation test is sufficient to check for this condition, and it can be completed right in the doctor’s office.
All of these conditions can be serious, and they can cause permanent damage. However, through regular checkups carried out in a timely fashion, you should be able to prevent most of these from occurring. Furthermore, by controlling your blood sugar levels, you will substantially lower your risk of developing these problems. Therefore, working with both your family doctor and your optometrist is vitally important to ensure the best results!
