About Diabetes - Monitoring Complications and Diabetes Care

Eye disorders

Diabetes can affect your eyes in many ways. Be aware of your eye health and have your eyes checked regularly, including a dilated eye examination at least once a year. And, be sure to maintain good glucose control. Most people with Type 1 diabetes are likely to experience some sort of eye complication, usually after having had diabetes for 15 years or more.

In people with Type 2, the risk of developing eye complications varies, depending on their glucose control and how long they’ve had diabetes. Diabetes complications are a major cause of preventable blindness among working aged people in the United States. Some complications can be treated, especially if caught early. And, good glucose control can prevent some complications from occurring in the first place, or can delay their progression. Diabetes care is vital to avoid dreadful complications.


The retina is the back of the inside of the eye. If the blood vessels in the retina become weak, they may start to leak blood or other fluids into the eye. Diabetic retinopathy can progress through several stages, from mild to moderate, then severe to very severe. It can result in severe vision loss, but it can be treated if detected early.

Diabetes can affect the eyes in several ways. Frequently, the effects are temporary and can be corrected with better diabetes control. However, long-term diabetes can cause changes in the eyes that threaten vision. Stable blood glucose levels and yearly eye examinations can help reduce the risk of serious eye damage. Blurred vision is one of the effects diabetes can have on the eyes. The reason may be that changing levels of glucose in blood also can affect the balance of fluid in the lens of the eye, which works like a flexible camera lens to focus images.

If the lens absorbs more water than normal and swells, its focusing power changes. Diabetes also may affect the function of nerves that control eyesight, causing blurred vision. Cataract and glaucoma are eye diseases that occur more frequently in people with diabetes. Cataracts are a clouding of the normally clear lens of the eye. Glaucoma is a condition in which pressure within the eye can damage the optic nerve that transmits visual images to the brain. These problems will occur of you will not do the right diabetes care.

Early diagnosis and treatment of cataract and glaucoma can reduce the severity of these disorders. Retinopathy, a disease of the retina, the light sensing tissue at the back of the eye, is a common concern among people with diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy damages the tiny vessels that supply the retina with blood. The blood vessels may swell and leak fluid. When retinopathy is more severe, new blood vessels may grow from the back of the eye and bleed into the clear gel that fills the eye, the vitreous.

While most people with diabetes may never develop serious eye problems, people who have had diabetes for 25 years are more likely to develop retinopathy. Experts think high blood pressure may contribute to diabetic retinopathy, and that smoking can cause the condition to worsen. If someone experiences blurred vision that lasts longer than a day or so, sudden loss of vision in either eye, or black spots, lines, or flashing lights in the field of vision, a doctor should be alerted right away.

Treatment for diabetic retinopathy can help prevent loss of vision and can sometimes restore vision lost because of the disease. A yearly eye examination with dilated pupils makes it possible for an ophthalmologist, an eye doctor, to notice changes before the illness becomes harder to treat. Scientists are testing new means of treating diabetic retinopathy. For more information on eye complications of diabetes and the treatment of these conditions, see the resource list at the end of this hypertext document.

No one wants to develop the complications of diabetes, whether they are short-term, such as a bladder infection, or long-term, such as blindness. New research has found that these complications are not inevitable. Good medical and personal care can delay and may even prevent these complications. (Distribute the "Control Your Diabetes for Life: Tips for Feeling Better and Staying Healthy" handout.) What are the causes of diabetic complications? The main cause is high blood glucose levels.

High blood glucose affects circulation and nerves. It limits the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the cells. It also speeds up how quickly blood vessels narrow and stiffen, and promotes blood clots that can block veins and arteries. If you have high blood pressure along with your diabetes, the risk for all diabetic complications greatly increases. Even if your family members or friends have had diabetic complications, this does not mean that you are doomed to suffer them. Recent findings and new technology for treating diabetes can reduce your risk. But you do need to work closely with your medical team and take good care of yourself every day.

Information note - Diabetic retinopathy

 

Diabetic retinopathy is the most common diabetic eye disease and a leading cause of blindness in American adults. It is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina. In some people with diabetic retinopathy, blood vessels may swell and leak fluid. In other people, abnormal new blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. A healthy retina is necessary for good vision. If you have diabetic retinopathy, at first you may not notice changes to your vision. But over time, diabetic retinopathy can get worse and cause vision loss. To avoid retinopathy, diabetic tests must be performed as soon as possible.

Disturbances of vision are a common complication of diabetes mellitus. In Germany, most of blindness due to diabetes is still illnesses. Long time exceed pathological changes in the blood vessels of the retina (retinopathy) forward, without being able to detect a deterioration in the person of vision (visual acuity). The changes in the blood vessels, however, can be seen early in ophthalmologic examinations. Diabetic retinopathy usually affects both eyes. Mild Nonproliferative Retinopathy. At this earliest stage, microaneurysms occur. They are small areas of balloon-like swelling in the retina's tiny blood vessels.

Moderate Nonproliferative Retinopathy. As the disease progresses, some blood vessels that nourish the retina are blocked. Severe Nonproliferative Retinopathy. Many more blood vessels are blocked, depriving several areas of the retina with their blood supply. These areas of the retina send signals to the body to grow new blood vessels for nourishment.

Proliferative Retinopathy. At this advanced stage, the signals sent by the retina for nourishment trigger the growth of new blood vessels. This condition is called proliferative retinopathy. These new blood vessels are abnormal and fragile. They grow along the retina and along the surface of the clear, vitreous gel that fills the inside of the eye. By themselves, these blood vessels do not cause symptoms or vision loss. However, they have thin, fragile walls. If they leak blood, severe vision loss and even blindness can result.

If you have lost some sight from diabetic retinopathy, ask your eye care professional about low vision services and devices that may help you make the most of your remaining vision. Ask for a referral to a specialist in low vision. Many community organizations and agencies offer information about low vision counselling, training, and other special services for people with visual impairments. A nearby school of medicine or optometry may provide low vision services.

The examination of the fundus by an ophthalmologist is easy to perform and requires no complicated technical equipment. Their regular performance is very effective. Damage to the blood vessels of the retina and the point of sharpest vision (macula) can be diagnosed long before the affected people with diabetes noted a deterioration of vision. Once a visual loss has occurred, it can be produced only in rare cases again. Essential to preserve vision is a standards-setting close to the blood sugar levels. Thorough check-ups and close cooperation between the house and eye doctor can provide vision and quality of life of diabetic long-term.