Self Care Includes Vision Care

More than 3 million Canadians live with diabetes. Experts predict that rates of diabetes are on the rise and set to double in the coming years. The disease and its resulting complications impact many parts of the eye.

If you have diabetes, routine eye exams can detect the early signs of diabetes-related eye diseases like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, and cataracts.

Book an appointment with an optometrist today to discuss your diabetes-related vision concerns.

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What Is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a disease involving a hormone called insulin. Insulin is made in the pancreas and helps your body to regulate its blood glucose levels. It delivers sugar to your body’s cells, which then use the sugar for energy.

People with diabetes either don’t make enough insulin or have trouble using the insulin they do produce. Both too much sugar in the blood (hyperglycemia) or not enough sugar in the blood (hypoglycemia) can impact your vision.

How Does Diabetes Impact Vision?

The risk of blindness is 25 times higher for people with diabetes, making it the leading cause of blindness among Canadians.

People with diabetes are nearly twice as likely to develop glaucoma than those without diabetes. They are also 2 to 5 times more likely to develop cataracts as they age.

People with diabetes should get an eye exam every year to keep their vision crystal clear.

Regular Eye Exams Prevent Diabetes-Related Vision Problems

Blurry Vision

If the body’s blood sugar is elevated, the eyes might fill with extra fluid. This causes blurry vision and, while ordinarily temporary, can signal more serious issues. Visit your optometrist to rule out something more serious.

Blurry vision can also be caused by starting insulin treatment or making changes to your medications.

Diabetic Retinopathy

Damage to the eye’s blood vessels can occur if blood glucose levels are too high for too long.

Tiny, delicate vessels in the eye provide blood to the retina. If they are damaged or break, your retina can make more to compensate for the burst vessels. The new vessels are usually even more fragile, and if they burst, fluid can leak into the retina, causing damage to vision.

Diabetic retinopathy has very few symptoms at first at first, but the disease can create scar tissue or lead to retinal detachment, causing permanent vision loss.