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Adult and Senior Eye Care
Diabetes
There are many medical disorders that are often associated
with problems in the eye. These can occur at any age but
often worsen as you get older. Diabetes is the most important
of these disorders.
Diabetes affects the eye in many ways. To start, as your
blood sugar fluctuates your refraction fluctuates, causing your
vision to be blurry. If your blood sugar remains high and out
of control, early cataracts
can form.
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The most serious problem with out of control blood sugar
in diabetes occurs in the retina. The retina functions like film
in a camera, gathering the images. Diabetes that is out of control
causes blood vessels within the retina to be leaky. This allows the
retina to swell with fluid and blood. Just think of the film sitting
in a glass of water all day long, then trying to take a picture.
The result would be a blurry image.
The final stage of out of control diabetes is when the retina grows
abnormal blood vessels in an attempt to bring "food" to those cells
that are deprived by the leaky vessels. These abnormal blood
vessels are fragile and break, bleed, and pull on the retina, causing
detachments. This is the potential blinding component of diabetes in the eye.
A laser can be used to seal the leaky blood vessels and stop the
abnormal blood vessels from growing, but this is a loosing battle
unless your blood sugar is under control. So, the key to preventing
any complications from diabetes is in your hands.
If you are a diabetic like myself you should try to make your blood
sugar match that of your family and friends that are not diabetic,
at all times of the day. All diabetics should have their eyes
dilated and examined by an eye professional at least once a year.
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