Diabetes & Eyesight
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Too much glucose (sugar) in the blood for a long time can cause
diabetes problems. This high blood glucose (also called blood sugar)
can damage many parts of the body, such as the heart, blood vessels,
eyes, and kidneys. Heart and blood vessel disease can lead to heart
attacks and strokes. You can do a lot to prevent or slow down
diabetes problems.
This booklet is about eye problems caused by diabetes. You will
learn the things you can do each day and during each year to stay
healthy and prevent diabetes problems.
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High blood glucose can cause eye
problems. |
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| Follow the healthy eating plan that you and your doctor or dietitian
have worked out. |
| Be active a total of 30 minutes most days. Ask your doctor what activities
are best for you. |
| Take your diabetes medicines at the same times each day. |
| Check your blood glucose every day. Each time you check your blood
glucose, write the number in your record book. |
| Check your feet every day for cuts, blisters, sores, swelling, redness,
or sore toenails. |
| Brush and floss your teeth and gums every day. |
| Don't smoke. |
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- Keep your blood glucose and blood pressure as close to normal
as you can.
- Have an eye doctor examine your eyes once a year. Have this
exam even if your vision is OK. The eye doctor will use drops to
make the black part of your eyes (pupils) bigger. This is called
dilating (DY-lay-ting) your pupil, which allows the doctor to see
the back of your eye. Finding eye problems early and getting
treatment right away will help prevent more serious problems later
on.
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Dilated eye |
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Undilated
eye |
- Ask your eye doctor to check for signs of cataracts and glaucoma.
- If you are pregnant and have diabetes, see an eye doctor
during your first 3 months.
- If you are planning to get pregnant, ask your doctor if you
should have an eye exam.
- Don't smoke.
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High blood glucose and high blood pressure from diabetes can hurt
four parts of your eye:
- Retina (REH-ti-nuh). The retina is the lining at the
back of the eye. The retina's job is to sense light coming into
the eye.
- Vitreous (VIH-tree-us). The vitreous is a jelly-like
fluid that fills the back of the eye.
- Lens. The lens is at the front of the eye and it
focuses light on the retina.
- Optic nerve. The optic nerve is the eye's main nerve to
the brain.
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This is a picture of an eye from the
side. |
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Retina damage happens slowly. Your retinas have tiny blood
vessels that are easy to damage. Having high blood glucose and high
blood pressure for a long time can damage these tiny blood
vessels.
First, these tiny blood vessels swell and weaken. Some blood
vessels then become clogged and do not let enough blood through. At
first, you might not have any loss of sight from these changes. This
is why you need to have a dilated eye exam once a year even if your
sight seems fine.
One of your eyes may be damaged more than the other. Or both eyes
may have the same amount of damage.
Diabetic retinopathy (REH-tih-NOP-uh-thee) is the medical term
for the most common diabetes eye problem.
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As diabetes retina problems get worse, new blood vessels grow.
These new blood vessels are weak. They break easily and leak blood
into the vitreous of your eye. The leaking blood keeps light from
reaching the retina.
You may see floating spots or almost total darkness. Sometimes
the blood will clear out by itself. But you might need surgery to
remove it.
Over the years, the swollen and weak blood vessels can form scar
tissue and pull the retina away from the back of the eye. If the
retina becomes detached, you may see floating spots or flashing
lights.
You may feel as if a curtain has been pulled over part of what
you are looking at. A detached retina can cause loss of sight or
blindness if you don't take care of it right away.
Call your doctor right away if you are having any vision problems
or if you have had a sudden change in your vision.
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First, keep your blood glucose and blood pressure as close to
normal as you can.
Your eye doctor may suggest laser treatment, which is when a
light beam is aimed into the retina of the damaged eye. The beam
closes off leaking blood vessels. It may stop blood and fluid from
leaking into the vitreous. Laser treatment may slow the loss of
sight.
If a lot of blood has leaked into your vitreous and your sight is
poor, your eye doctor might suggest you have surgery called a
vitrectomy (vih-TREK-tuh-mee). A vitrectomy removes blood and fluids
from the vitreous of your eye. Then clean fluid is put back into the
eye. The surgery often makes your eyesight better.
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You may not get any signs of diabetes retina damage or you may
get one or more signs:
- blurry or double vision
- rings, flashing lights, or blank spots
- dark or floating spots
- pain or pressure in one or both of your eyes
- trouble seeing things out of the corners of your eyes
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Normal |
Blurry |
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If you have retina damage from diabetes,
you may have blurry or double
vision. |
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Yes. You can get two other eye problems--cataracts and glaucoma.
People without diabetes can get these eye problems, too. But people
with diabetes get them more often and at a younger age.
- A cataract (KA-ter-act) is a cloud over the lens of
your eye, which is usually clear. The lens focuses light onto the
retina. A cataract makes everything you look at seem cloudy. You
need surgery to remove the cataract. During surgery your lens is
taken out and a plastic lens, like a contact lens, is put in. The
plastic lens stays in your eye all the time. Cataract surgery
helps you see clearly again.
- Glaucoma (glaw-KOH-muh) starts from pressure building
up in the eye. Over time, this pressure damages your eye's main
nerve--the optic nerve. The damage first causes you to lose sight
from the sides of your eyes. Treating glaucoma is usually simple.
Your eye doctor will give you special drops to use every day to
lower the pressure in your eye. Or your eye doctor may want you to
have laser surgery.
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National Diabetes
Information Clearinghouse
National Diabetes Education
Program
American Diabetes Association
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
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