Diabetic Eye Disease

What is Diabetic eye disease?

Diabetes is a condition characterized by the body’s inability to regulate the blood sugar on its own. Therefore, patients with Diabetes are usually required to be on prescription medicines (pills or insulin injections) to control their blood sugar. When patients do not maintain good control of their blood sugar levels, the increase in sugar in the blood causes damage to the walls of blood vessels, which will result in blood leaking out of the vessels. When this occurs in the eye, it is called Diabetic Retinopathy.
Another condition that falls in the Diabetic Eye Disease category is a Cataract, or clouding of the lens inside the eye. Patients with Diabetes tend to get Cataracts several years sooner than non-Diabetics, and the disruption of vision occurs more quickly. Therefore, Diabetics tend to need Cataract Surgery sooner than the non-Diabetic population.

How do I know if I have Diabetic eye disease?

The longer a patient has Diabetes, the greater the risk is for them to develop Diabetic Eye Disease. The best way to delay the onset of Diabetic Eye Disease is to maintain good, consistent control of blood sugar levels. It is very important for all Diabetics to have yearly eye exams with dilated retinal evaluations to monitor the development/status of Diabetic Eye Disease.