Diabetes is a leading medical condition in the US, with over 10% of the American population being diabetic and even more adults having pre-diabetes. Diabetes is an autoimmune disease that should be monitored closely to ensure not only that your insulin levels stay where they should be but also that your overall health is not affected.
Diabetes unfortunately can cause lots of medical problems, and one of them is poor eye health. If you have diabetes, you need to make sure you get regular diabetic eye treatment done or have your eyes checked regularly. Here are reasons why.
You can develop diabetic eye disease
If you have diabetes, you can easily develop diabetic eye disease if you are not careful. You can even develop the disease even if you think you are keeping your diabetic condition in check through a healthy diet and exercise and watching your insulin levels. What diabetes can do to affect your eyes is this: the glucose levels in your body that are changed due to diabetes can cause your blood pressure to spike. This can cause nerve damage in your eye's blood vessels and can lead to vision problems with time.
Diabetic eye disease can also cause your retina to be damaged by weakened blood vessels in your eyes. Very severe cases of diabetic eye disease can lead to blindness or irreversible eye scarring, so make sure you see your eye doctor more often when you're diabetic.
You can have more eye problems than a traditional patient
Even if you don't need glasses and your eyes feel fine, you need to receive regular diabetic eye treatment when you have diabetes. This is the best way to prevent eye damage caused by the autoimmune disorder and to catch illness before it can get worse. If you see double, have frequent vision-related headaches, feel like you cannot focus as easily as you used to, notice a change in your vision when you drive at night, or have other vision concerns, see your eye doctor right away. Your eye problems might be normal or age-related, but they could be worsened simply because of your diabetes.
Let your eye doctor know you're diabetic right away, and if you don't have an eye doctor already, ask your doctor to refer you to one. Your eye health cannot be restored once it's gone, so your best option is to stay on top of your vision today by engaging in regular diabetic eye treatment and care.
To learn more, contact a resource like Northwest Ophthalmology.
There are a number of medical professionals who you should be seeing on a regular basis, but one that tends to be forgotten about is the optometrist. Even if you do not have trouble seeing clearly, it's a good idea to get an eye exam every year or two, just to ensure nothing is amiss. After all, optometrists do more than prescribe glasses. They can also diagnose conditions like glaucoma and cataracts, which are easier to manage when detected early.
If you would like to learn a little more about what happens when you see the optometrist and why this is so important, read the articles on this website. They're all dedicated to optometry and eye health.