Diabetes Comes with Eye Health Risks

When you live with diabetes, you also live with an increased risk for eye diseases like glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and diabetic macular edema. Since these diseases don’t always come with apparent symptoms, an eye doctor may be the only one who can spot them before they severely impact your vision.

Eye exams are important for everyone. But if you’re one of the millions of Americans who live with diabetes, you’ll need to have your eyes examined at least once every year. Our eye doctors can recognize diabetic eye problems before they progress and act fast to help preserve your sight.

Make sure your eyes get the support they need. Book a diabetic eye exam with us now at Total Vision Pleasanton, formerly Foothill Optometric Group.

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Diabetic Eye Disease

Diabetic Retinopathy

High blood sugar from diabetes can damage the blood vessels connected to your retina, causing diabetic retinopathy.

Blood and fluid leaking from damaged vessels may obscure your vision. In advanced cases, your eye may respond by growing new blood vessels, creating scar tissue that can lead to retinal detachment and vision loss.

Diabetic Macular Edema

Diabetic retinopathy may also lead to swelling and fluid build-up in the macula, the part of the retina necessary for central vision. The resulting condition, called diabetic macular edema, can impact your ability to read, drive, recognize faces, and perform many other central vision tasks.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a class of eye diseases related to optic nerve damage, which is often caused by high pressure inside the eye. Diabetes doubles your risk for open-angle glaucoma, which generally has no symptoms until it permanently impacts your vision.

Any kind of glaucoma can lead to severe vision loss if left unmanaged. Your eye doctor can diagnose glaucoma before this happens and take steps to preserve your vision for as long as possible.

Cataracts

Cataracts are caused by proteins grouping together to form cloudy patches in your eye’s natural lens. When cataracts become large enough, they can obscure your entire lens and eventually cause blindness.

Living with diabetes means you’re more likely to develop cataracts earlier in life. But unlike many other eye diseases, vision lost to cataracts can often be restored with cataract surgery.

When to Get Diabetic Eye Exams

People with diabetes need annual eye exams to look for warning signs of associated eye diseases. Monitoring your eyes more frequently keeps us informed about the risks you face and makes it easier to intervene with any problems that appear.

Don’t face the risk of diabetic eye disease alone. Book your next exam with us now.