Diabetes Impact On Eye Health

Diabetes impacts almost every aspect of a person’s physical health, including eye health and vision. Diabetes impact on eye health is so profound that optometrists have developed the umbrella term diabetic eye disease, which includes various eye diseases directly related to diabetes.

If you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes or diabetes, you must let your optometrist know and schedule a medical eye care appointment. In most cases, we’ll want to see you at least twice a year to catch any early eye disease red flags and to help you manage your symptoms to remain proactive in protecting your vision.

Type 2 Diabetes Impact On Eye Health And Vision

While type 2 diabetes is typically caused by insulin resistance and chronically high blood sugar, neither of these directly impacts vision. The chronic toll that high blood sugar levels take on the organs and vascular system ultimately affects a person’s eye health and vision loss.

While high glucose levels can cause temporary blurriness due to changes in fluid levels or swelling of the eyes’ tissues, this is temporary and fades once medications or other treatments balance blood sugar levels. However, chronic elevations in blood glucose levels take their toll on the vascular system, including the vessels and capillaries in the back of the eye. 

The combination of damaged vessels and an excess of new vessel growth that can cause scarring results in a range of eye diseases and conditions.

Diabetic Eye Diseases

Some of the most common conditions that fall under the diabetic eye disease umbrella include:

Diabetic retinopathy

Most people won’t notice anything different during the early stages of diabetic retinopathy. However, in a short amount of time, the irreversible disease progression diminishes vision and can cause total blindness.

This change is caused by damage to the blood vessels in the retina (the light-sensitive layer of tissue in the back of your eye). When caught early via an annual comprehensive dilated eye exam, we can begin treating the condition and significantly slow its development. Retinopathy symptoms start with small vision changes that become more significant over time when left undetected. 

Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy include:

• Trouble reading.
• Difficulty seeing things in the distance.
• Seeing dark spots (that can look like a spiderweb).
• More-than-normal floaters.
• Flashes of light.

If it continues to progress, diabetic retinopathy can lead to more serious eye diseases like diabetic macular edema (DME). This happens when leaky blood vessels in the retina leak fluid into the macula, causing blurry vision. 

Neovascular glaucoma is another risk of unmanaged diabetes. The loss of circulation through damaged retinal vessels causes the body to grow “new” vessels. Unfortunately, these abnormal vessels can block fluid from draining from the eye, altering the pressure inside the eye and causing glaucoma.

Cataracts

Cataracts are another vision problem with a direct link to diabetes. While they are one of the most common causes of vision loss in seniors, cataracts are more likely to develop in people with existing health conditions - like diabetes.

Cataracts are caused by a clouding of the eye's lens. This is probably the result of escalated blood sugar levels that cause deposits to form on the lens. Depending on the severity of that cataract, you may be able to see the filmy appearance on the lens of a person with cataracts.

Symptoms of cataracts include:

• Cloudy, blurred or dim vision (people with cataracts have difficulty seeing without bright task lighting).
• Seeing halos around lights.
• Trouble seeing (and driving) at night.
• More rapid increase in vision loss (frequently changing eyeglass prescriptions).
• Fading colors or colors may appear more yellow.

In most cases, cataracts can be treated with surgery to remove them from the lens, but cataract prevention and making healthy, proactive lifestyle choices are the best ways to minimize their development and progression.

Protect Your Vision With Healthy Lifestyle Choices

Making healthy lifestyle choices is one of the most powerful weapons you have against developing diabetes and protecting your eye health and vision. Our diets can help prevent some of the most common health conditions that affect eye health, like type two diabetes and high blood pressure. 

Eating well and caring for your health are also essential for managing existing health conditions to prevent them from unnecessary progression. This includes things like:

• Eating a healthy (anti-inflammatory) diet.
• Get reasonable amounts of exercise every day (do physical activities you enjoy - dancing, brisk walking, swimming or water exercise, biking, etc.).
• Establishing healthy sleep habits.
• Practicing stress reduction.
• Getting outside in nature as much as you can.
• Laughing often.
• Ensuring you have high-quality lighting inside and outside your home.

The good news is that there has never been a better time to practice a diabetes-friendly lifestyle, and there are plenty of supportive resources available - online and in your community - to help you do so.

Schedule Annual Eye Exams With Eye to Eye Family Vision Care

Of course, scheduling routine annual eye exams with Eye to Eye Family Vision Care is another healthy lifestyle choice you can make to minimize the impact of diabetes on your eye health. 

We work closely with our patients to support their disease management strategies and educate them on things they can do to preserve healthy eyes and vision as long as possible. Contact us today to book your next eye exam.