If you have diabetes or sugar (as we commonly know it), it means there is too much blood glucose or your body has excessive blood sugar. A human body breaks down food (most of it) into glucose – the primary energy source to run different functions of the body.
As we are talking about diabetes, it is important to mention ‘insulin’ here. Insulin is a hormone produced by our pancreas. This hormone is responsible for moving the glucose from our blood to the cells so that it can be used or stored for energy.
In case of a diabetic patient, the body does not produce adequate insulin or is unable to make efficient use of insulin. Because of this, glucose – instead of reaching your cells – starts collecting in your bloodstream.
High levels of glucose in your blood can cause swelling and inflammation throughout the body. This can result in different health issues. Over time, it tends to damage your eyes, nerves, heart, kidneys, and other organs.
If you are a diabetic, high blood sugar can affect your eyes and vision. In this blog post, we try to explain things in very simple terms for easy understanding.
- Blurry Vision
Whenever there is a spike in your blood glucose levels, the tissues of your eyes may swell. It could affect the shape of your lens. When this happens, your eyes may find it hard to focus properly. The result is blurred vision.
Once your blood sugar becomes stable, your problem of blurred vision may subside. Some patients may have blurry vision for a few days or even weeks when they begin insulin treatment or there is a change in their diabetes medicine.
Diabetic macular edema occurs when fluid builds up on your retina, resulting in swelling and blurry vision. This serious problem can cause permanent loss of vision.
- Cataract
A cataract is the clouding of the natural lens of the eye. When this happens, light cannot enter your eye properly. Cataract is usually an age-related eye issue. As you age, the proteins in the eye form clumps due to which the lens slowly turns opaque, and you no longer have clear vision. Things may seem hazy, blurry, or less vibrant.
The only way to treat cataract is surgery – to replace the natural cloudy eye lens with a clear artificial lens. As cataract is related to advancing age, almost everyone will have cataract in life – often after the age of 40. However, diabetics are more at risk of early cataracts – one reason being that high blood sugar can lead to deposits building up in the lenses – to turn them cloudy. Also, the progression of the condition is faster. Keeping your blood sugar in control helps protect the lens from permanent clouding and surgery.
- Glaucoma
When fluid pressure in the eye increases, you may get a serious eye condition called glaucoma. Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can result in optic nerve damage. The optic nerve is responsible for transmitting images to the brain.
Glaucoma is frequently referred to as – the silent thief of sight. The reason behind this nomenclature is that patients may not have any early symptoms. By the time you discover something is wrong with your sight, glaucoma has already resulted in significant loss to vision.
If you have diabetes, you are two times more prone to the most common type of glaucoma (open-angle glaucoma). Uncontrolled sugar levels in blood can damage the blood vessels in your retina while also creating new abnormal blood vessels. The new ones can obstruct the natural drainage system of the eye. This in turn can raise the eye pressure – leading to glaucoma. According to clinical studies, sugar patients are at twice the risk of glaucoma than healthy people.
- Diabetic Retinopathy (DR)
Diabetic retinopathy is a kind of progressive eye disorder that affects people with Type 1, Type 2, or gestational (pregnancy-related) diabetes. It is the major cause of blindness in adults of working-age.
Consistently high levels of sugar in the blood, over years, can block the tiny blood vessels that supply blood to the retina. This cuts off the blood supply to the retina. It also causes the formation of abnormal blood vessels on the surface of the retina.
When the abnormal new blood vessels leak blood and other fluids, it is diabetic retinopathy. The retinal tissue either swells or forms scar tissue. When this happens, you see floaters and have blurred or cloudy vision. DR typically affects both eyes.
What’s more, diabetic retinopathy complications can also lead to other serious conditions of the retina – macular degeneration, macular edema, and retinal detachment. These conditions are associated with permanent loss of vision.
What Statistics Say
According to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), approximately 90% of diabetes-related blindness is preventable. The key is early detection. If you are a diabetic, you should get yearly comprehensive assessments of your vision and eye health. These assessments have different tests to detect potential issues and diseases early on – before there are signs of vision loss. Studies reveal that 60 out of every 100 diabetics do not get the eye exams recommended by their doctors.
Conclusion
Diabetes puts you at a high risk of several eye conditions. The need is to keep your blood sugar within specified limits. Apart from following the doctor-recommended diet and exercise regimen, you should be very particular about getting comprehensive eye examinations – to be able to detect and treat diabetes-induced eye conditions before they take a toll on your vision.
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