Diabetes is a complex disease resulting from the inability of the body to produce insulin, a hormone that takes sugar out of the blood and into cells where it can be used for energy. Without enough insulin, there is too much sugar in your blood.
If you have diabetes, you probably already know that one of the common complications of elevated blood sugar is diabetic retinopathy, which is when elevated blood sugar damages the tiny blood vessels in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. If untreated, diabetic retinopathy can lead to permanent vision loss and blindness.
Nearly 16 million American have diabetes and during their lifetimes, about half of those people will develop diabetic retinopathy. Annually, as many as 25,000 people lose their vision due to diabetes-related complications.
In addition to retinopathy, people with diabetes are nearly twice as likely to develop cataracts as other adults, and cataracts tend to develop at an earlier age. A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens that results in blurring of normal vision.
Some studies show that individuals with diabetes also are almost twice as likely to suffer from glaucoma. The longer someone has had diabetes, the more common glaucoma is. Typically glaucoma occurs when pressure builds up in the eye. The pressure damages the optic nerve in the back of the eye, and vision is gradually lost due to the damage. Unfortunately, individuals are often unaware of this loss of vision until it is extreme.
This all sounds scary – and it is! But, with proper medical care and comprehensive eye exams at least every year, all of this can be prevented. November is Diabetes Awareness Month. Our office is planning a health education event for those affected with diabetes. We will have more information about this event soon. Stay tuned to our blog and Facebook page, as we will be posting details there. For more information about the effects of diabetes on your vision, please see our website. If you have any questions, please call our office at 434.823.4441.