Diabetic Eye Disease
What is diabetic eye disease? Diabetic eye disease is a group of eye problems that can happen in people with diabetes. All of these problems can cause severe vision loss or even blindness. The most common diabetic eye disease is diabetic retinopathy. But diabetic eye disease can include other eye problems such as: Cataract – This is a clouded area in the eye's lens. While many people get cataracts as they age, they happen at an earlier age in people with diabetes. Glaucoma – This is damage of the optic nerve and loss of vision. It is usually associated with an increase in fluid pressure inside the eye. A person with diabetes is nearly twice as likely to get glaucoma. What is diabetic retinopathy? Diabetic retinopathy is the most common diabetic eye disease and a leading cause of blindness in adults in the U.S. It is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. A healthy retina is necessary for good vision. In some people with diabetic retinopathy, blood vessels might swell and leak fluid. In other people, abnormal blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina. Diabetic retinopathy usually affects both eyes. If you have diabetic retinopathy, you might not notice changes to your vision at first. But over time, diabetic retinopathy can worsen and cause vision loss. What are the stages of diabetic retinopathy? There are four stages of diabetic retinopathy. They are: Mild non-proliferative retinopathy – This is the earliest stage. People in this stage have small areas of balloon-like swelling in the retina's tiny blood vessels. These are called microaneurysms. Moderate non-proliferative retinopathy – In this second stage, blood vessels that nourish the retina become blocked. Severe non-prolif Continue reading >>
Eye Problems And Diabetes
Eye problems and diabetes introduction If you have diabetes, regular visits to your ophthalmologist for eye exams are important to avoid eye problems. High blood sugar (glucose) increases the risk of diabetes eye problems. In fact, diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in adults age 20 to 74. If you have eye problems and diabetes, don't buy a new pair of glasses as soon as you notice you have blurred vision. It could just be a temporary eye problem that develops rapidly with diabetes and is caused by high blood sugar levels. High blood sugar in diabetes causes the lens of the eye to swell, which changes your ability to see. To correct this kind of eye problem, you need to get your blood sugar back into the target range (90-130 milligrams per deciliter or mg/dL before meals, and less than 180 mg/dL one to two hours after a meal). It may take as long as three months after your blood sugar is well controlled for your vision to fully get back to normal. Blurred vision can also be a symptom of more serious eye problem with diabetes. The three major eye problems that people with diabetes may develop and should be aware of are cataracts, glaucoma, and retinopathy. A cataract is a clouding or fogging of the normally clear lens of the eye. The lens is what allows us to see and focus on an image just like a camera. Although anyone can get cataracts, people with diabetes get these eye problems at an earlier age than most and the condition progresses more rapidly than in people without diabetes. If you have a cataract, there is a cloudy area in the lens of your eye that results in the inability to focus light, and your vision is impaired. Symptoms of this eye problem in diabetes include blurred or glared vision. During cataract surgery, the cloudy lens is removed or cleaned ou Continue reading >>
Diabetes And Your Eyes
Diabetic eye disease, caused by diabetes, is a leading cause of blindness and vision loss. Because of the high risk for eye disease, all people with type 2 diabetes should receive an annual dilated eye exam. For people with type 1 diabetes, an annual dilated exam is recommended after they have had diabetes for 5 years. Pregnant women with diabetes should see their eye doctor during the first three months of pregnancy and may need follow-up visits. Continue reading >>
Facts About Diabetic Eye Disease
Points to Remember Diabetic eye disease comprises a group of eye conditions that affect people with diabetes. These conditions include diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema (DME), cataract, and glaucoma. All forms of diabetic eye disease have the potential to cause severe vision loss and blindness. Diabetic retinopathy involves changes to retinal blood vessels that can cause them to bleed or leak fluid, distorting vision. Diabetic retinopathy is the most common cause of vision loss among people with diabetes and a leading cause of blindness among working-age adults. DME is a consequence of diabetic retinopathy that causes swelling in the area of the retina called the macula. Controlling diabetes—by taking medications as prescribed, staying physically active, and maintaining a healthy diet—can prevent or delay vision loss. Because diabetic retinopathy often goes unnoticed until vision loss occurs, people with diabetes should get a comprehensive dilated eye exam at least once a year. Early detection, timely treatment, and appropriate follow-up care of diabetic eye disease can protect against vision loss. Diabetic retinopathy can be treated with several therapies, used alone or in combination. NEI supports research to develop new therapies for diabetic retinopathy, and to compare the effectiveness of existing therapies for different patient groups. What is diabetic eye disease? Diabetic eye disease can affect many parts of the eye, including the retina, macula, lens and the optic nerve. Diabetic eye disease is a group of eye conditions that can affect people with diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy affects blood vessels in the light-sensitive tissue called the retina that lines the back of the eye. It is the most common cause of vision loss among people with diabetes Continue reading >>
Eye Damage With Diabetes
Diabetes that isn't under control can damage your eyes. These are types of eye damage that can occur with diabetes. Swelling of the Eye Lens Blurred vision is a common sign of diabetes that isn't under control. When blood sugar levels are high for a long time, body water is pulled into the lens, causing it to swell. It will take about six weeks, after getting blood sugar levels closer to normal, for the swelling to go away completely. People with diabetes shouldn't get new glasses or contacts until their blood sugar levels have been under good control for at least two months. If you get new glasses or contacts before the swelling goes down, the prescription will fit the swollen eye lens. After the swelling is gone, the prescription won't work any more. Weakened Blood Vessels Even though blurred vision is a sign that something is wrong with the lens of the eye, the worst damage happens to the blood vessels in the retina, in the back of the eye. After many years of high blood sugar levels, the walls of the blood vessels in the retina become weak and thin. The weak areas can bulge out and form pouches called micro-aneurysms. These weak, thinning areas can leak a fatty protein called exudate. If exudate leaks into the center of the retina, in an area called the macula, it will cause swelling, making it hard to see. When this condition goes untreated, it causes changes in your vision that can be permanent. Damage to the Retina Damage can sometimes go unnoticed until it leads to serious vision problems. This damage is called retinopathy, which means disease of the retina. Blood can leak out of the weak blood vessels in the retina and cause hemorrhages, called early diabetes retinopathy or background diabetes retinopathy. The hemorrhages get worse if blood vessels in the eye b Continue reading >>
Diabetic Retinopathy
What Is Diabetic Retinopathy? Diabetic retinopathy is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina. When these blood vessels are damaged, they may leak blood and grow fragile new vessels. When the nerve cells are damaged, vision is impaired. These changes can result in blurring of your vision, hemorrhage into your eye, or, if untreated, retinal detachment. Diabetic retinopathy is the most common diabetic eye disease and a leading cause of blindness in the United States. What Is Diabetic Retinopathy, Testing, and Treatments Watch these video animations to learn more about diabetic retinopathy, the affect that the diabetic retinopathy has on the eyes, and tests and treatments options for the condition. Topics covered Symptoms Blurred vision Sudden loss of vision in one eye Seeing rings around lights Dark spots or flashing lights The symptoms described above may not necessarily mean that you have diabetic retinopathy. However, if you experience one or more of these symptoms, contact your ophthalmologist for a complete exam. It is also important to note that pregnancy and high blood pressure may aggravate diabetic retinopathy. Causes People with untreated diabetes are 25 times more at risk for blindness than the general population. The longer a person has had diabetes, the higher the risk of developing diabetic retinopathy. Fortunately, with regular, proper eye care and treatment when necessary, the incidence of severe vision loss has been greatly reduced. If you have diabetes, your ophthalmologist can help to prevent serious vision problems. Diabetic retinopathy can cause vision loss in two ways: Macular Edema Macular edema is a condition where your retinal blood vessels develop tiny leaks. When this occurs, blood and fluid leak from the retinal blood vessels and f Continue reading >>
What Treatments Are Available For Diabetic Eye Disease?
The first step in any treatment for diabetic eye disease is to maintain blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol levels as close to normal as possible. Treatment of diabetic macular edema (swelling or the accumulation of blood and fluids in the macula, the part of the retina that provides sharp central vision), has evolved a great deal in the last five to ten years, and is based on the severity of the edema. At present, there are three options: laser treatment Avastin, Lucentis, or Eylea injection intravitreal steroids: Kenalog, Ozurdex, and Iluvien Laser Treatment This technique is used by retinal surgeons to treat a number of eye conditions, one of which is diabetic eye disease. A beam of high-intensity light is directed into the eye to seal off leaking blood vessels and prevent additional blood and fluid from leaking into the vitreous, which is the jelly-like substance that fills the inside of the back part of the eye. The doctor administers eye drops to dilate (open up) the pupil and numb the eye before treatment begins. Because lasers cannot restore lost vision, it is critical to maintain regular comprehensive eye examinations so that treatment can be initiated as soon as diabetic eye changes are detected. There are two types of laser treatments for diabetic eye disease: Focal laser treatment, also called photocoagulation: The retina is treated to stop or slow the leakage of blood and fluid from abnormal blood vessels within the eye. Focal laser, however, can also destroy surrounding healthy retinal tissue as it seals the leakage from abnormal blood vessel growth; therefore, it is not used on blood vessels directly under the macula, the center of the retina. Scatter laser treatment, also called panretinal photocoagulation: The areas of the retina away f Continue reading >>
How Vision And Diabetes Are Connected
Approximately 16 million Americans have diabetes, and at least 5 million are at risk for eye diseases with diabetes because they don’t know they have the disease. With this lack of education regarding eye diseases and the interaction of vision and diabetes, 12,000 to 24,000 individuals lose their sight each year due to the effects of diabetes on eyes. Eye problems and diabetes go hand in hand because of the way Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes change the body’s use of glucose, or blood sugar. The body regulates and controls glucose using insulin, but if the body doesn’t produce enough insulin (type 1) or cells become insulin resistant (type 2), too much glucose can be in the blood for too long. This excess of sugar in the blood can cause damage to several parts of the body, including the small blood vessels of the eye, which is how vision and diabetes directly affect each other. Diabetic retinopathy, cataracts and glaucoma are a group of eye diseases called Diabetic Eye Disease that affects individuals with diabetes. The most common effects of diabetes on eyes is diabetic retinopathy, or retinopathy with diabetes, and is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among working-age people in the United States. Nearly all patients with type 1 diabetes develop diabetic retinopathy, and almost 25% of those with type 2 diabetes are found to have retinopathy with diabetes at the time that diabetes is diagnosed. What Is Diabetic Retinopathy? When it comes to vision and diabetes, diabetic retinopathy is the major preventable cause of blindness in adults in the United States. Retinopathy with diabetes harms the blood vessels in the retina. The retina is at the back of the eye and sends pictures of what you see to the brain. Diabetes causes the blood vessels to leak blo Continue reading >>
How Diabetes Can Damage Your Eyes
Having diabetes puts you at risk for eye problems. Learn about diabetes-related eye conditions that can threaten your sight and how to avoid them. Type 2 diabetes complications can be widespread, affecting nearly every part of your body. One of the greatest threats is to your eyes. People with diabetes have a higher risk of developing serious eye problems than people without diabetes do. Diabetes causes increased inflammation in the body, which is particularly evident in blood vessels both big and small, says Mario Skugor, MD, an endocrinologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Problems with larger blood vessels can cause heart attacks and strokes, he says, while damage to smaller ones, the capillaries, can cause kidney and eye problems. “If you look in the eye of a person with diabetes, you will frequently see the damaged capillaries,” Dr. Skugor says. Successfully managing diabetes and other health conditions and seeing an eye doctor regularly are key to keeping your eyes healthy. Here's what you need to know about diabetes-related eye problems. Diabetic Retinopathy Diabetic retinopathy, a common diabetes complication, is the leading cause of blindness in American adults, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Up to 45 percent of people with diabetes have some form of diabetic retinopathy, according to the National Eye Institute. The retina is the tissue at the back of the eye that perceives light, and keeping it healthy is necessary for clear vision. There are two types of diabetic retinopathy: Non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy is the most common form of retinopathy, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). In mild cases, blood vessels may swell and form fluid filled pouches within the retina. Early on, you may not eve Continue reading >>
Glaucoma And Diabetes: Can Diabetes Affect Your Eyes?
People with diabetes are twice as likely to be at risk of having glaucoma compared to people without diabetes. We will first look at how the eye works, what glaucoma is, followed by the relationship between glaucoma and diabetes. Clara’s story Clara’s eyes were feeling tired all of the time. She was attributing the tiredness to her Type 2 diabetes, but she wasn’t too sure about it. That’s why she contacted TheDiabetesCouncil to raise her concerns about the increasing pressure in her eyes. Her left eye had suddenly become red, and she was experiencing sharp pain in her eyes. She had somewhat of a headache, too. After hearing about Clara’s symptoms, she was advised to see her eye doctor for an examination, as glaucoma was suspected. Clara got in touch with us to report that she had been to her ophthalmologist, and she had been diagnosed with the most common type of glaucoma, open-angle glaucoma. She was using some drops in both eyes, and she relayed that she was feeling better, and that the pain in her eye and other symptoms have subsided. To help others in Clara’s situation, we have written this comprehensive guide about glaucoma and diabetes. How does the eye work? If you want to understand eye diseases, specifically glaucoma, it’s important to understand how the eye operates. It’s an incredible, wonderful organ! Without our eyes, we could not see the world around us. The eye is a spherically shaped organ that has a tough outer surface. The covering in the front of the eye is curvy. This covering is called the cornea. The cornea is responsible for focusing light. It also serves to protect the eye. Light makes its way through the eye by way of the anterior chamber. In this chamber, there is fluid called aqueous humor that the light travels through. Light Continue reading >>
Diabetes And Your Eyes — More Than Retinopathy
You probably know that eye damage (retinopathy) is a major complication of diabetes. So when vision blurs, it’s normal to think the worst. But diabetes can cause blurred vision in several other ways, some of which are reversible. I’m embarrassed to admit I only recently found out that blurred vision is a symptom of diabetes, even without any retinal damage. When blood glucose levels go up, blood gets thicker. Thicker blood pulls in more fluid from surrounding tissues, including the lenses of the eye, impacting the ability to focus. -- Keep an eye on your vision! Learn about preventive steps and treatments for diabetic retinopathy from retinal specialist Dr. Charles Wykoff. >> Blood sugar and blurry vision According to WebMD, [Blurred vision] could just be a temporary problem that develops rapidly and is caused by high blood sugar levels. High blood sugar causes the lens of the eye to swell, which changes your ability to see. Changing the shape of the lens naturally throws off vision. This can be a chronic, 24/7 kind of problem, or it can occur only after a high-carb meal, when glucose is way up. The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide says that after-meal blurriness can be prevented by avoiding high-carb meals. The cure for chronic, all-the-time blurriness is to get blood glucose down to normal range before meals. It may take as long three months of relatively normal blood glucose levels before vision returns to your baseline normal. Diabetes can also cause blurriness or double vision due to hypoglycemia (low blood glucose). In this case, lens shape is probably not to blame. Low blood glucose can make it hard for the brain to focus on what the eye is seeing. Vision usually returns to normal when glucose levels rise. If blurriness doesn’t go away when glucos Continue reading >>
Diabetes And Eye Disease
Diabetes can harm the eyes. It can damage the small blood vessels in the retina, the back part of your eye. This condition is called diabetic retinopathy. Diabetes also increases the chance of having glaucoma, cataracts, and other eye problems. Alternative Names Retinopathy - diabetic; Photocoagulation - retina; Diabetic retinopathy Causes Diabetic retinopathy is caused by damage from diabetes to blood vessels of the retina. The retina is the layer of tissue at the back of the inner eye. It changes light and images that enter the eye into nerve signals, which are sent to the brain. Diabetic retinopathy is a main cause of decreased vision or blindness in Americans 20 to 74 years old. People with type 1 or type 2 diabetes are at risk of this condition. This animation depicts changes to the retina resulting from diabetes mellitus. The chance of developing retinopathy and having a more severe form is higher when: You have had diabetes for a long time Your blood sugar (glucose) has been poorly controlled You also smoke or you have high blood pressure If you already have damage to the blood vessels in your eye, some types of exercise can make the problem worse. Check with your health care provider before starting an exercise program. Other eye problems that can occur in people with diabetes include: Glaucoma. Increased pressure in the eye that can lead to blindness. Macular edema. Blurry vision due to fluid leaking into the area of the retina that provides sharp central vision. Retinal detachment. Scarring that may cause part of the retina to pull away from the back of your eyeball. High blood sugar or rapid changes in blood sugar level often cause blurred vision. This is because the lens in the middle of the eye cannot change shape when it has too much sugar and water in the Continue reading >>
Eye Damage (diabetic Retinopathy)
Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness in Canada. People with diabetes are more likely to develop cataracts at a younger age and are twice as likely to develop glaucoma, but diabetes’ effect on the retina is the main threat to vision. Called diabetic retinopathy, this effect of diabetes on the eyes is the most common cause of blindness in people under age 65 and the most common cause of new blindness in North America. It is estimated that approximately 2 million individuals in Canada (i.e. almost all people with diagnosed diabetes) have some form of diabetic retinopathy. We are pleased to announce that Diabetes Canada and the Canadian Association of Optometrists have partnered to help optometrists educate their patients about retinopathy. What is retinopathy? Over time, diabetes can cause changes in the retina at the back of the eye. Your retina helps you see by acting like a film projector in the back of your eye, projecting the image to your brain. The change is called retinopathy and there are a couple of different types that affect people with diabetes. The macula, which is the part of your retina that helps you to see colour, becomes swollen (macular edema) and this can cause blindness. A second complication is the growth of new weak blood vessels that break and leak blood into your eye so the retina cannot project images to your brain (proliferative diabetic retinopathy). The result is a loss of sight. Diabetes causes changes in the tiny blood vessels that nourish the retina. In the early stages, known as nonproliferative or background retinopathy, the arteries in the retina weaken and begin to leak, forming small, dot-like hemorrhages (blood flow from the ruptured blood vessel). These leaking vessels often lead to swelling (edema) in the retina and decreased Continue reading >>
Diabetic Eye Disease
A A A Do I need to follow-up with my doctor after being diagnosed with diabetic eye disease? Diabetes is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness worldwide, and, in the United States, it is the most common cause of blindness in people younger than 65 years of age. Diabetic eye disease also encompasses a wide range of other eye problems, for example, Diabetes may cause a reversible, temporary blurring of the vision, or it can cause a severe, permanent loss of vision. Some people may not even realize they have had diabetes for several years until they begin to experience problems with their eyes or vision. Diabetes also may result in heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and circulatory abnormalities of the legs. The American Diabetes Association estimates that 29.1 million people in the United States have diabetes, and 8.1 million people additional people went undiagnosed. (This population is unaware that they have diabetes.) In the United States 1.2 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed every year. In the US in 2012, the total annual cost of diagnosed diabetes was 2.45 billion. Eighty-six million people in the US have prediabetes, and 9 out of every 10 don't know they have it. Of the 86 million people with prediabetes, without lifestyle changes 15% to 30% of them will develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years. Lifestyle management has been shown to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and prediabetes by at least two-thirds. It can also slow or halt the progression of prediabetes to diabetes. People can try to avoid the problems associated with diabetes, including those that affect the eyes, by taking appropriate care of themselves by the following: Maintain a normal level of weight Watch your diet, especially limiting unhealthy types of fats and Continue reading >>
Diabetic Retinopathy
If you have diabetes, it is vital that you have your eyes checked regularly. Damage to the retina at the back of the eye (retinopathy) is a common complication of diabetes. If left untreated, it can become worse and cause some loss of vision, or total loss of vision (severe sight impairment) in severe cases. Good control of blood sugar (glucose) and blood pressure slows down the progression of retinopathy. Treatment with a laser, before the retinopathy becomes severe, can often prevent loss of vision. What is diabetic retinopathy? The term retinopathy covers various disorders of the retina, which can affect vision. Retinopathy is usually due to damage to the tiny blood vessels in the retina. Retinopathy is commonly caused by diabetes but is sometimes caused by other diseases such as very high blood pressure (hypertension). Note: people with diabetes also have a higher risk of developing other eye problems, including cataracts and glaucoma. How does diabetic retinopathy occur? Over several years, a high blood sugar (glucose) level can weaken and damage the tiny blood vessels in the retina. This can result in various problems which include: Small blow-out swellings of blood vessels (microaneurysms). Small leaks of fluid from damaged blood vessels (exudates). Small bleeds from damaged blood vessels (haemorrhages). Blood vessels may just become blocked. This can cut off the blood and oxygen supply to small sections of the retina. New abnormal blood vessels may grow from damaged blood vessels. This is called proliferative retinopathy. These new vessels are delicate and can bleed easily. The leaks of fluid, bleeds and blocked blood vessels may damage the cells of the retina. In some severe cases, damaged blood vessels bleed into the jelly-like centre of the eye (the vitreous Continue reading >>
