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You may want to run out and buy a new pair of glasses when you have diabetes. But wait, blurred vision is a common temporary symptom of an abnormal blood glucose level.

Eyes tend to swell when blood glucose levels are high and a swollen eye changes your ability to see clearly. Getting your blood glucose level back into the target ranges (90-130 mg/dL before meals, and 180 mg/dL or less one or two hours after a meal) is essential to correct blurred vision. Be patient as it can take as long as three months for you vision to be properly restored.

Consult an optometrist if your blurred vision continues past three to four months as it could be a sign of a more serious problem. People with diabetes are more susceptible to cataracts, glaucoma, and retinopathy.

Cataracts

A cataract is when the clear part of the lens becomes cloudy and fogged. The eye is composed of many parts, but the lens is the part that allows the eye to focus on an image. The eye cannot properly focus light and this causes glaring and blurring of vision. Anyone can get cataracts; however, people with diabetes can get it at an earlier age and it progresses far quicker in diabetic people.

Surgery to remove the cataract is the most common treatment. Also lens transplants are becoming more prevalent as well. Contacts or corrective glasses are usually needed to further correct vision.

Glaucoma

When fluid doesn’t drain properly and builds-up inside the eye, it causes a disease called glaucoma. The fluid continues to build causing pressure on the eye and damages the nerves and blood vessels in the eye resulting in a change in vision.

Glaucoma often has no symptoms until it has progressed into the more advanced stages. Severe and rapid vision loss is its main symptom. Symptoms have also included eye aches and pains, headaches, watering eyes, and halo or rings around lights in less common forms of the disease.

Special eye drops, laser incisions, medicine and surgery are treatments for the disease. Prevention is the best way to treat Glaucoma by getting an annual glaucoma screening.

Retinopathy

The eye has a group of specialized cells that change light into actual images and the optic nerve transmits those images to the brain. When the vascular channels around the eye are damaged, it prevents the signals from reaching the brain. Retinopathy caused by diabetes effects this message delivery system by creating a micro vascular condition, which if not treated, causing blindness.

It is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the industrialized world. There has been a direct link between the length a person has diabetes to the probability of developing retinopathy. The longer one has diabetes, the higher the risk of contraction.

Usually, retinopathy doesn’t develop in those that have had diabetes for less than 5 years. Rarely does it affect those that have not reached puberty. A study by the DCCT, found that people that strictly control their blood sugar levels reduced their risk of developing retinopathy. Strict control resulted in reducing their probability of developing retinopathy by 50% to 70%.

People with Type 2 diabetes usually showed signs of already having the disease at the time of their diagnoses. Overall progression of the disease can be controlled by the proper control of blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.

Different types of retinopathy

Background retinopathy. When there is damage to the eye, but there are no immediate vision problems this is called background retinopathy. During this stage, it is important to carefully manage your diabetes to prevent it from becoming more serious and affecting your vision.

Maculopathy. There is a small area of the eye called the macula and it is a critical part of the whole vision process. Maculopathy damages the macula and can severely reduce vision.

Proliferative retinopathy. This type of retinopathy affects the small vessels in the back of the eye and prevents them from receiving the proper amount of oxygen. The vessels then occlude and improperly remodel themselves.

There are certain risks factors with which can worsen the occluded vessels. To stop the progression of new vessels from forming around the eye one should not smoke, manage their cholesterol intake, and control their glucose levels. The vessels are very fragile and can clot and bleed into the orbit which causes scares to form and lead to blindness.

Laser procedures and surgery are the leading treatments for diabetic retinopathy. Most procedures result in at least a 50% reduction of blindness.

Get your eyes screened annually to prevent retinopathy from going undiagnosed. Pregnant woman should also have a comprehensive screening during the first trimester.

How to prevent eye problems:

The ADA (American Diabetes Association) recommends these eye care guidelines for persons with diabetes:

1. Get a dilated eye exam if you have Type 1 diabetes every 3 to 5 years after being diagnosed with diabetes.

2. If you have Type 2 diabetes, have an exam shortly after your diagnoses.

3. Have an annual eye exam performed regardless of the type of diabetes you have.

4. Women considering pregnancy and have a history of diabetes should have an eye exam.

When to contact a doctor:

- Sudden sustained blurred vision.
- Light flashes or pops.
- Black spots or holes in your vision.