If you have diabetes, you are most likely aware that you are at risk for vision problems. High blood sugar can lead to problems like blurry vision, glaucoma, cataracts, and retinopathy.
As a matter of fact, diabetes is the primary cause of blindness in adults ages 20 to 74. This is why it’s critical to have an optometrist examine your eyes regularly to evaluate your eyes before you notice any side effects of vision problems.
Cataracts, which can cause blindness, develop at a younger age, and progress faster in adults with diabetes over people without diabetes. People with diabetes are twice as likely to develop cataracts. High blood sugar levels cause a build-up of cells and proteins in the eye’s lens which makes it cloudy.
Believe it or not, most major eye diseases caused by diabetes only take five to ten years to develop. Damage to your eyes from uncontrolled blood sugar develops over time but can cause major issues.
Did you know with diabetes you may be more likely to get eye infections like pink eye too? If your diabetes is not controlled properly, it can lower your immune system which lowers the ability for your body to fight off any type of infection. You can keep eye infections at bay, keep your blood sugar levels under good control, wash your hands, and do not touch your eyes as often as possible.
Needless to say, when you have diabetes, it is important to control your blood sugar levels as much as possible. Many optometrists will not prescribe contact lenses or glasses to diabetics who do not have their sugar levels under control, because sugar spikes can affect your vision and the prescription they would prescribe would not be accurate.
You should reach out to your optometrist if you suffer from any of these symptoms as they can signal an emergency:
- Flashes of light
- Any holes in your vision
- Black spots in your vision
- Blurred vision