Diabetes Causes Eye Problems
Eye problems and diabetes introduction
High blood sugar (glucose) increases the risk of diabetes eye problems. In fact, diabetes is the leading cause of blindness .High blood sugar of eye diabetes causes the lens of the eye to swell, which changes ability to see. To correct this kind of eye problem, need to get blood sugar back into the target range (90-130 milligrams per deciliter or mg/dl before meals, and less than 180 mg/dl one to two hours after a meal). It may take as long as three months after our blood sugar is well controlled for your vision to fully get back to normal.Blurred vision can also be a symptom of more serious eye problem with diabetes. The three major eye problems that people with diabetes may develop and should be aware of are cataracts, glaucoma, and retinopathy.
Cataracts:
A cataract is a clouding or fogging of the normally clear lens of the eye. The lens is what allows us to see and focus on an image just like a camera. Although anyone can get cataracts, people with diabetes get these eye problems at an earlier age than most and the condition progresses more rapidly than in people without diabetes.If we have a cataract, there is a cloudy area in the lens of our eye that results in the inability to focus light, and our vision is impaired. Symptoms of this eye problem in diabetes include blurred or glared vision.
Diabetic Retinopathy
The retina is a group of specialized cells that convert light as it enters through the lens into images. The eye nerve or optic nerve transmits visual information to the brain.Diabetic retinopathy is one of the vascular (blood-vessel related) complications related to diabetes. This diabetes eye problem is due to damage of small vessels and is called a “microvascular complication.Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in industrialized nations. The duration of diabetes is the single most important risk for developing retinopathy. So the longer we have diabetes, the greater the risk of this very serious eye problem. If retinopathy is not found early or is not treated, it can lead to blindness.
Types of Retinopathy in Diabetes:
- The blood vessel damage exists, but there is no vision problem. This is called background retinopathy.
- Maculopathy. In maculopathy, the person has developed damage in a critical area called the macula. because this occurs in an area that is critical to vision, this type of eye problem can significantly reduce vision.
- Proliferative retinopathy. New blood vessels start to grow in the back of the eye. because retinopathy is a microvascular complication of diabetes, a disease of small vessels, this type of retinopathy develops because of an increasing lack of oxygen to the eye from vascular disease. Vessels in the eye are thinned and occluded and they start to remodel.
Glaucoma:
When fluid inside the eye does not drain properly from a buildup of pressure inside the eye, it results in another eye problem with diabetes called glaucoma. The pressure damages nerves and the vessels in the eye, causing changes in vision.With less common forms of the disease, you might notice:
- Headaches
- Eye aches or pain
- Blurred vision
- Watery eyes
- Halos around lights
- Vision loss
Treatment of this eye problem in diabetes can include special eye drops, laser procedures, medicine, or surgery. Surgery and laser treatments are directed at improving the eye’s aqueous drainage. one can prevent serious eye problems in diabetes problems by getting an annual glaucoma screening from eye doctor.