Diabetic eye disease is very common and will affect most diabetics at some point in their lives. Blurred vision is often one of the fist symptoms of diabetes and can recur during periods of elevated blood glucose. The most serious of the diabetic eye conditions is diabetic retinopathy, affecting the blood vessels of the retina. There are four stages of diabetic retinopathy; the first may go unnoticed while the last possibly results in blindness. In the early stages on the blood vessels are effected and may bulge and leak though there will be no visible symptoms. A dilated eye can reveal if you are suffering from retinopathy, as most diabetics will. When the macula is affected it is called maculopathy and is more serious as vision can become altered. In the most severe stage vision may be temporarily or permanently lost due to hemorrhaging and retinal detachment. Proliferative retinopathy only affects 5-10% of diabetics with 60% of cases occurring in type 1 patients who have had the disease for 30 years or more.
Cataracts, a clouding of the lens of the eye, are another eye complication of diabetes. While cataracts affect the elderly, non-diabetic population, they tend to manifest at an earlier age with diabetes. Glaucoma is caused by a build-up of pressure in the eye, damaging the nerves and blood vessels of the eye.
Diabetic Eye Disease Symptoms
Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy are: blurred vision, floaters (moving patches of lost vision) and flashes, and sudden loss of vision. Dimmed or blurred vision is a sign of a cataract, as light cannot pass through the lens of the eye. Symptoms of glaucoma often do not appear until the disease is more advanced. Symptoms include headache, eye ache, blurred vision, watering eyes and loss of vision.
Diabetic Eye Disease Month
The month of November is Diabetic Eye Disease Month. The goal of the month is to promote awareness and encourage diabetics to have regular eye examinations. Due to the nature of elevated blood glucose levels and damage to blood vessels and nerves, it is particularly important that diabetics be proactive in their approach to both eye care and the development of diabetic eye disease and other complications. Maintaining healthy blood glucose levels significantly decrease the risk of developing complications while regular eye exams can catch disease early enough to provide treatment and prevent vision loss. In 2011 Prevent Blindness America was the official sponsor of Diabetic Eye Disease Month. The organization is the largest volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to preventing blindness. The organization is a political advocate, education center, and research foundation as well.
