Imagine a door shutting slowly till there is just a sliver of light between you and darkness. It can happen to people with diabetes. Not many people realize that diabetes can affect their vision, their ability to read and write, appreciate the colours of the rainbow and the beauty of the flowers around them. Slowly their world can turn from light to darkness.
Diabetes causes problems in the retina, the delicate tissue that is sensitive to light. It is the retina that converts light into electrical signals that travel along the optic nerve to your brain. The brain then interprets these signs to ‘see’ the world around you. The retina is supplied with blood by a delicate network of blood vessels. This is where diabetes comes in. It damages these blood vessels thereby affecting your eyesight.
Diabetes causes problems in the retina with what are collectively called microvascular abnormalities. The small blood vessels develop microaneurysms and leak blood. New blood vessel growth occurs. However, these blood vessels are weak and also leak. These leaks – haemorrhages – can cause irreversible damage to the retina and result in vision loss.
The unusual changes in blood sugar levels resulting from diabetes can affect the lens inside the eye. The result is retinopathy – damage to the retina which occurs when there is damage to the small blood vessels that nourish tissue and nerve cells in the retina.
The longer a person has diabetes,the greater the chances of developing diabetic retinopathy. It is said that almost 80% of people who have diabetes for 15 years or more suffer some damage to the blood vessels and their retina – and have a greater chance of developing retinopathy. Diabetes can affect any of the cranial nerves that are responsible for the movement of the eye. This can cause peripheral vision, a dangerous condition when reading, writing or driving.
Although individuals with diabetes are more likely to develop cataracts at a younger age and twice as likely to develop glaucoma vs non-diabetics, the primary vision problem caused by diabetes is diabetic retinopathy.
When you have diabetic retinopathy no two days are the same. Your vision changes along with blood sugar levels. People with the condition have noticed that when their sugar drops, they can actually see better.
The unusual changes in blood sugar levels resulting from diabetes can affect the lens inside the eye, especially when diabetes is uncontrolled. This can result in blurring of vision which comes and goes over the course of the day, depending on the blood sugar level. People with diabetes are more likely to get bacterial infection, including pink eye and an eyelid sty. This is because diabetes affects the auto-response immune system of the body, lowering one’s resistance to infection.
The eye being a sensitive organ, it is important to control diabetes by keeping blood sugar levels as low as possible, practicing good hygiene such as washing your hands frequently and avoiding constant contact such as touching and rubbing your eyes. A yearly visit to an ophthalmologist will help you keep your condition in check and may prevent it from worsening. You can partner with your ophthalmologist towards the maintenance of the health of your eyes. It’s worth the time and effort,to ensure that diabetes does not steal from you one of the greatest gifts of life – sight.
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