How Does Diabetes Affect Your Eyes?

Diabetes can harm your eyes in many ways. High blood sugar from diabetes can damage the tiny blood vessels of the retina. This can lead to blurred or spotty vision and even blindness if it gets severe. Here’s how diabetes affects your eyes and what you can do to take care of your sight.

Diabetic Retinopathy and Vessel Damage

High blood sugar levels from diabetes can damage the blood vessels in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. This problem is called diabetic retinopathy.

As the blood vessels weaken, they can swell, leak fluid, and grow fragile new vessels. This disrupts how the retina works. Diabetic retinopathy causes vision symptoms like blurriness or spots. If not treated, it can get worse and lead to blindness.

Diabetic Macular Edema

The macula is the central part of the retina that lets you see details clearly. Diabetes can cause fluid to accumulate in the macula. This condition, known as diabetic macular edema, can distort vision and impair central vision. The longer you have diabetes, the more likely you are to get macular edema. Controlling your blood pressure and level of blood sugar is key to avoiding it.

Higher Risk of Other Eye Diseases

On top of retinopathy, having diabetes also raises your risk for other eye conditions that can damage sight. These include:

Cataracts – This is the clouding of the lens of your eye that slowly worsens vision. Diabetes can cause people to get cataracts earlier in life.
Glaucoma – Fluid builds up, causing pressure in the eyes. Diabetes doubles your chance of getting glaucoma.
Corneal problems – High blood sugar affects corneal healing and increases infection risk.

Changing Vision with Varying Blood Sugar

As your blood sugar increases, it can temporarily change your lens’ focusing power. This leads to shifts in vision that cause near or far blurriness. Controlling your diabetes prevents big blood sugar swings that affect your eyes.

You may need new glasses or contact lens prescriptions more often as diabetes progresses. What used to work may not keep working as well over time.

Protecting Your Eyes with Diabetes

Diabetes seriously raises your risk of eye problems. Here’s how to keep your eyes healthy:

Get a dilated eye exam yearly to check for signs of diabetic retinopathy. Finding it early is vital.
Follow your eye doctor’s advice to regulate your blood sugar through medications, diet, and exercise. This can help prevent vision damage.
Monitor your blood pressure and cholesterol closely. High blood pressure further damages eye vessels.

See your doctor immediately if you notice sudden vision changes, spots, flashing lights, eye pain, or redness. These could signal a diabetes-related eye issue needing prompt treatment.

Uncontrolled diabetes can badly affect your eyes through conditions like diabetic retinopathy and macular edema. Risks like cataracts and glaucoma also increase. Staying on top of managing your diabetes through regular eye exams, medications, and lifestyle helps protect your vision. Learn how diabetes impacts the eyes and take active steps to prevent vision loss.

For more on diabetes and eye health, visit Vue Eye Boutique Optometry at our Dearborn Heights, Michigan office. Call (313) 895-7203 to schedule an appointment today.