Diabetes Complication: Diabetic and Eye Problems
June 8th, 2009 Posted in Diabetes, DiseasesThere are many complication of diabetes, and some leading to other serious health conditions. Eye problems are one of particular concern to diabetics. Diabetes can lead to eyes problem and sometimes there are no early symptoms. So you may have no idea anything is wrong until your eyesight is in danger.
The following are the main eye problems that can be caused, or made worse, by diabetes.
Cataracts
Cataracts are often described as a clouding of the lens of the eye. They are treatable by surgery in most cases.
Glaucoma
Our eyes are mostly made up of fluid, and when the pressure of that fluid builds up too much inside the eye, you have glaucoma. Left untreated, it can damage the optic nerves, and even lead to blindness.
Diabetic retinopathy
Lining the back of our eyes is light-sensitive tissue known as the retina. The retina contains very small blood vessels that can be damaged by diabetic retinopathy. Sometimes there are symptoms such as blurred vision, but often you won’t even know anything is wrong until the condition is well advanced. In the worse case, it leads to blindness.
Early detection is the key to battling all of these conditions, and the best diagnostic tool available is the dilated eye examination. This is a test in which special eye drops temporarily enlarge your pupils, allowing the doctor to see the back of your eyes. This test (which is painless) can detect cataracts, glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy in their early, treatable stages.
Eyesight is precious, so if you have diabetes do yourself a favor and make an appointment for your dilated eye examination. And then do it again every year from now on.
Tags: Diabetes, diabetes complication
