Diabetes Can Affect Your Health in Many Ways

Your body needs insulin to control the glucose levels in your blood. When the body lacks insulin, glucose stays in your blood and cannot reach your cells. Diabetes occurs when your body cannot produce or use insulin, leading to high blood glucose (sugar) levels. Diabetes affects many parts of the body, including your eyes. The network of blood vessels in the eyes is sensitive to blood sugar levels and can quickly become damaged or blocked by high blood glucose levels. Consistently high blood sugar can lead to diabetic eye disease, so it is vital that anyone who has diabetes takes care of their eyes by having regular eye exams.

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Diabetes & Your Eyes

When your blood sugar is too high, it can affect you in several ways. In the short term, you may experience temporary blurry vision. Your vision typically blurs due to a change in fluid levels or swelling in your eye tissue.

When blood glucose stays high for an extended period, it may damage the blood vessels in the back of your eyes, causing potential complications. Swelling and leaking fluid can occur because of damaged blood vessels, and newer, weaker vessels may grow.

Bleeding from leaking blood vessels can cause scarring and a dangerous increase of pressure. Many serious diabetes-related eye diseases develop from these damaged blood vessels.

Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy can affect anyone with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. This disease typically progresses slowly and may not show visible symptoms until vision loss occurs. Many people with diabetes have the initial stage of this disease, non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR).

With NPDR, leaking blood vessels cause the retina to swell. Blurred vision is common in this stage of the disease. More changes happen as this disease progresses, becoming proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).

With PDR, the retina begins to grow new, abnormal blood vessels. The newer, weaker blood vessels can break and bleed into the center of the eye, potentially blocking all vision. Scar tissue may form from these new blood vessels, causing problems with the macula.

Diabetic Macular Edema

Diabetic macular edema is a complication of diabetic retinopathy. Diabetes may cause macular swelling. This complication occurs when blood vessels leak and fluid builds up in the macula, leading to vision loss or blindness.

How Do We Diagnose Diabetic Eye Disease?

With our available technology, we can effectively diagnose and treat several eye diseases. We use the following diagnostic tools to detect any signs of diabetic eye disease, even in its early stages.

Optomap Retinal Imaging

Optomap is a retinal imaging technology designed to capture as much of the retina as possible in a single image. A single image can capture up to 82% of the retina using low-power laser wavelengths. We can use Optomap to help in diagnosis and long-term treatment planning.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)

Optical coherence tomography is a noninvasive imaging technology for capturing detailed cross-sectional images of the retina and its layers. It works similarly to an ultrasound, using light instead of sound. These highly detailed images provide an accurate picture of your eye health and help us track the progress of any treatments.

Protect Your Eyes for Life

Protect your eyes from diabetes-related complications by effectively managing your diabetes and visiting your optometrist frequently. With annual eye exams, we can diagnose any problems and evaluate your eye health. If you have diabetes or a family history of diabetes, please book an appointment to have your eyes examined with us today.