Diabetes is a chronic illness that as many as 584 million people struggle with globally. According to the International Diabetes Foundation, one in nine adults lives with it and 40% of them are not even aware they have it. Diabetes causes hyperglycemia (having too much blood sugar in your bloodstream) and affects areas throughout the body.
Every area affected by diabetes harms nerves and tissue, leading to dangerous complications if left untreated. Diabetic eye disease is one of the many ways this illness damages your body. During this holiday season, it’s essential to take precautions to lower your risk of dealing with eye-related complications.
Whether you’re coping with diabetic complications or trying to prevent them, residents of the Pelham Gardens area of the Bronx, New York, can find help from the medical team at Bronx Eye Associates.
When diabetes starts affecting your eyes, it often causes damage in various areas, weakening tissue and impairing your sight. These are the eye diseases that frequently result:
This disease weakens the retinal blood vessels, leading to the formation of abnormal vessels that leak and cause further damage to your retina, resulting in vision loss or even blindness.
Your macula sits in the center of your retina, and this illness results from fluid collecting in this part of the eye, creating swelling that blurs vision. It’s the primary reason for vision loss in diabetics.
Numerous factors lead to the formation of cataracts. Still, with diabetes, cataracts develop when blood sugar accumulates in the aqueous humor (the space between the lens of the cornea and your eyeball), causing the lens to swell and blur vision.
This is a possible consequence of diabetic retinopathy, where the abnormal blood vessels formed by that condition cause a problem known as neurovascular glaucoma.
To reduce your risk of any of these ocular complications from diabetes, try these helpful tips:
For diabetics, this is one of the most important ways to stay ahead of blood sugar spikes that can do more damage to your body in the long term, especially over gatherings like Thanksgiving dinner.
Hypertension and hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol) are issues that are linked to problems that cause diabetes, and can also develop from bad dietary choices. Keep an eye on both of these issues as well.
The combination of diabetes and smoking is dangerous for many reasons, including the higher risk of developing these eye diseases. Stop smoking to help preserve your vision.
Staying in shape improves circulation, keeps weight under control, and helps manage diabetes.
When dealing with this chronic illness, it’s crucial to get regular eye exams to track any presence of conditions related to it, and to start treatment as early as possible.
Enjoy your friends and family this November, but eat smart and follow these tips to avoid eye problems from diabetes. Make an appointment with the Bronx Eye Associates team today for testing and other ways of managing eye care if you’re diabetic.
