
Glaucoma And Diabetes: Awareness Can Save Your Sight
People who have diabetes are at higher risk for developing glaucoma, a group of degenerative eye diseases that cause blurred vision, loss of vision and, if left untreated, blindness.
January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month, the perfect time to remind ourselves why a yearly eye exam is important. Although some types of glaucoma trigger distressing symptoms, the most common type, called open-angle, does not. An eye exam is necessary to detect this problem.
Diabetes and Glaucoma
A research study done at the Michigan Kellogg Eye Center revealed the risk of open-angle glaucoma increases 35 percent for people with diabetes alone. Individuals having hypertension alone have a 17 percent higher risk. The likelihood of developing glaucoma rises 48 percent for those with both diabetes and hypertension.
"The study reinforces the importance of regular eye examinations for patients at increased risk of glaucoma, including those with diabetes and hypertension," said researcher Dr. Joshua D. Stein.
Other risk factors for glaucoma are a positive family history, being over 40, Asian-American or African-American heritage, and a history of severe eye injury.
Glaucoma’s Angle: What Glaucoma Is
For us to see, light must go through the curved covering of our eyes, or cornea, and then pass through a pocket called the anterior chamber. The anterior chamber contains a protective fluid called aqueous humor. From there, light travels through the hole (pupil) in our colorful iris, through the vitreous—a fluid filled chamber—and then strikes the back or our eye, or retina.
At the cusp of the
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