Can You Treat Diabetes Affecting Your Eyes?

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What's Inside

Diabetes is a long health condition that affects your body’s ability to convert food energy. The food you have is converted into sugar and is released into your body’s bloodstream. This blood sugar is also known as glucose.

Types Of Diabetes And Effects Of Diabetes On Eye

If your blood sugar level in the blood shoots up, then the pancreas regulates it by secreting insulin. Insulin acts as the key or as an agent regulating the blood sugar levels in your bloodstream. Insulin acts as a gatekeeper by letting blood sugar enter into body cells to generate energy for functioning.

Effects Of Diabetes On Eye

Diabetes severely impairs your body’s ability to produce insulin that is needed to control blood sugar levels. If you develop diabetes, then it’s never the end of the world, instead, it’s an indication that certain lifestyle changes should be made for the rest of your life. 

4 Major Types Of Diabetes

  • Type one diabetes

Type one diabetes is thought to have developed by an autoimmune disorder, where the body’s immune system attacks itself by mistake. Almost 10% of the total diabetic patients in the world do have this type one diabetes. The majority of the children, teens, and young adults having diabetes have type one diabetes. Or else, type one diabetes develops mostly in children, teens, and young adults. 

  • Type two diabetes

It is the most common type of diabetes found among diabetic patients. Almost 90% out of the total diabetic patients in the world have type two diabetes. Type two diabetes tends to develop in adults and older people. But recent shoot ups of type one diabetes in children and young adults is alarming. Type two diabetes develops when the body’s ability to control blood sugar levels using insulin gets impaired or the insulin produced by the pancreas is not enough to control the glucose in the bloodstream.  

  • Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes develops in pregnant women and usually resolves after delivery. But those women who develop gestational diabetes are at a higher risk of developing type two diabetes later on in life. If you have gestational diabetes, then your child is at a higher risk of developing some kind of health problem. 

  • Prediabetes

Prediabetes is a quite strange condition where your blood sugar levels shoot up high, but not higher enough to be diagnosed as type two diabetes. Some studies reveal that patients with prediabetic conditions are at higher risk of developing type two diabetes, heart problems, and stroke later on in their life.

When Diabetes Affects The Eye?

People with diabetes, irrespective of the type, are at a higher risk of developing eye-related problems than normal people. 

  • Glaucoma

Diabetic patients are at a higher risk of developing glaucoma. Glaucoma is a condition that is developed when the pressure inside your eyes builds up. In diabetic patients, the fluid inside the eye wouldn’t drain up as it should be. This builds pressure inside the eyes resulting in glaucoma.

  • Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is a condition where the nerves and blood vessels inside your retina get severely impaired due to light sensitivity issues. Diabetic patients are at a higher risk of developing diabetic retinopathy. 

Diabetic patients are also at a higher risk of developing other sorts of eye-related problems such as cataracts.

It’s quite an easy job for your family physician to diagnose eye issues that pop out due to diabetes. After the initial diagnosis, he may refer you to an eye specialist where further treatment options are carried out. 

The best option to manage your diabetic-related eye problems is to control your blood sugar levels as much as you can. If it is too late, then medical intervention might be needed. 

Your eye specialist may treat you with medicines like aflibercept, bevacizumab, or ranibizumab. All these medicines do possess anti-VEGF properties

Vitrectomy is another eye procedure carried out in diabetic patients. During this procedure, the eye surgeon removes the gel-filled inside your retina. 

Cataract surgery. Cataract surgery is carried out by the eye surgeon to remove the damaged cloudy lens and replace it with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL)

Laser therapy. Laser therapy is usually performed to treat diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is a condition that can even lead to complete blindness. Conducting laser therapy results in the formation of some scar tissues inside the retina, which slows down the growth of new blood vessels that can be potentially threatening to the health of your retina. 

Conclusion

The best option for diabetic patients to get rid of diabetic-related eye problems is to keep their blood sugar under control. If eye problems have already started to pop up, then it is time to consult your eye specialist and medical intervention should be there as soon as possible. 

About Tim Mathew

Tim Mathew is an Endocrinologist specialized in general endocrinology, diabetes, and lipid metabolism. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in a science-related discipline and completed a medical school program in New York. Once Tim Mathew quoted that Endocrinology is both a challenging and rewarding medical specialty, so he wants to specialize in it. To know more about Tim Mathew kindly go through our about page.

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