Diabetes & Eye Health


Diabetes affects the eye in many ways. As your blood sugar fluctuates your refraction fluctuates, causing your vision to be blurry. If your blood sugar remains high and out of control, early cataracts can form. A laser can be used to seal the leaky blood vessels and stop the abnormal vessels from growing. However, the best solution to prevent this from happening is to make sure your blood sugar is under control.

Uncontrolled blood sugar can eventually result in retinal detachment. This occurs when the retina grows abnormal blood vessels in an attempt to bring "food" to those cells that are deprived by the leaky vessels. These abnormal blood vessels are fragile. They break, bleed, and pull on the retina, causing a detachment. This is the potential blinding component of diabetes in the eye.

If you are a diabetic, you should check your blood sugar and maintain it within safe levels at all times of the day. All diabetics should have their eyes dilated and examined by an eye professional at least once a year.