How Diabetes Affects Your Eyes

At Atlantic Eye Care in Virginia Beach, VA, our team care about your overall health and how it affects your vision. Diabetes is a disease that affects many people globally and it’s also an underlying health concern with direct implications for vision health. If you have diabetes or pre-diabetes, it's essential to let our optometrist know during your visit. In the interim, you can learn more about how the disease affects your eyes below:

How Diabetes Affects Your Eyes

Diabetic eye diseases are caused or worsened by diabetes. The longer these continue without treatment, the higher the risk of partial, whole, or permanent eyesight loss. Diabetic eye disease can occur several forms, including the following:

Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy causes damage to the blood vessels in the eye. This damage is referred to as microaneurysms in optometry. Over time, these microaneurysms can leak into the retina, build up, and potentially damage the optic nerve. The macula, which is part of the retina, may form new blood vessels that can also leak and interfere with how fluid flows within the eye. In addition, diabetic retinopathy has a high chance of causing blindness if left untreated.

Diabetic Macular Edema

This is another condition that can result due to untreated diabetic retinopathy that is in the advanced stages. It happens when the macula in the retina grows and swells due to the increase of leakage in the blood vessels. Other conditions, such as cataracts and glaucoma, are also much more likely to occur in people with diabetes.

Signs of Diabetic Eye Disease

Depending on the type of diabetic eye disease and its stage of progression, you may experience symptoms such as the following:

• Excess floaters in field of vision
• Sparkles in field of vision
• Reduction in color perception
• Patch of darkness in field of vision
• Reduction in visual acuity at night

It is important to keep in mind that you may not have all of these symptoms or you might experience different symptoms with diabetic eye disease.

Contact us for Treatment Today!

When diabetes is not managed, this can directly impact your eyesight. At Atlantic Eye Care in Virginia Beach, VA, we provide eye exams that help with early detection of diabetic eye disease, which can help preserve your vision. To learn more about our services or to schedule your appointment, contact us at (757) 340-7070 today.