Diabetic Eye Diseases: What You Should Know About Them

High blood sugar causes a number of diseases that affect organs and bodies. And it does so without symptoms. Diabetes can lead to diabetic eye disease, which therefore consists of various eye problems.

Experts often report the effect of diabetes on the cardiovascular system, but its effect on vision is given less attention. Diabetic eye diseases can lead to complete blindness. Most of these diseases are due to poorly controlled diabetes.

Diabetic eye diseases: why do they occur?

Diabetes is a chronic glucose-related disease. The pancreas is unable to synthesize enough insulin or the tissues are unable to use it properly.

Insulin is an important substance that allows glucose to enter cells. When it works properly, blood glucose levels rise. This damages the tissues. According to experts at the Mayo Clinic  , diabetic eye disease occurs because  high blood sugar damages the blood vessels in the back (retina) of the eye. 

Diabetes is considered a silent illness that can lead to serious complications if not detected in time. The U.S. National Institute for Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) points out that the symptoms of diabetes are usually associated with a change in medication or disease management.

However, long-term damage already occurs during the precursors of diabetes. It is a condition where the glucose level is higher than normal. However, it may not be high enough to diagnose the disease.

Major diabetic eye diseases

Diabetic eye disease is a common term for eye problems that diabetes can cause. The most common of these are diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, glaucoma, and cataracts. Below we tell you more about these diseases.

Diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is a disease caused by damage to the blood vessels that carry oxidized blood to the retina. The retina is a light-sensitive layer that borders the inside of the eye at the back of the eye.

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common diabetic eye problems. It usually occurs in stages. As the  American Academy of Ophthalmology states, the first stage of diabetic retinopathy is not proliferative.

As a result, the blood vessels begin to weaken or leak into the retina. At this point, diabetic macular edema develops, which usually causes blurred vision. It can also in some cases lead to vascular ischemia.

As retinopathy progresses, it becomes proliferative. This stage consists of the growth of new blood vessels (this process is also called neovascularization or angiogenesis). These blood vessels are weak and can be damaged as well as bleed.

Bleeding impairs vision. Scar tissue can also form in the eye, making the inside of the eye more opaque. Thus, light does not enter the retina properly.

Diabetic macular edema

Diabetic macular edema is another common diabetic eye disease. As we discussed in the previous section, it often appears as a result of retinopathy. It means the accumulation of fluid in the macula, thus causing inflammation. 

The macula is located near the middle of the retina. It is responsible for medium vision, high resolution, and color vision. For this reason, diabetic macular edema can lead to vision loss or even blindness over time.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is also one of the common diabetic eye diseases. It is caused by an increase in the pressure inside the eye. The drying system of the eye is damaged, causing fluid to accumulate in the front of the eye.

This damages the optic nerve. As the Mexican Diabetes Association says, glaucoma is considered the second leading cause of blindness and the leading cause of irreversible blindness.

Diabetics are twice as likely to develop this disease as healthy people. Symptoms usually occur progressively and vision deteriorates gradually.

Cataract

This disease is also really common among healthy people. It is associated with aging. It is a process of wear and tear in which the lenses of the eyes become more hazy.

This makes it difficult to see. Experts consider it a diabetic disease because diabetes speeds up the process. In other words, people with diabetes get cataracts at a younger age than others.

Diabetic eye diseases: when should you see a doctor?

Diabetic eye diseases are diseases that often show no symptoms until the damage is already significant. For this reason, experts believe it is important for diabetics to undergo comprehensive eye examinations on a regular basis.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), almost all diabetic eye diseases are preventable. For this to be possible, it is important to detect the change in a timely manner and start strict blood sugar control.

Doctors recommend that all people with diabetes have eye and vision tests at least once a year. It is important that patients with high blood pressure or high cholesterol take tests even more often.

Persistent high blood sugar levels increase the risk of diabetic eye disease. So it is important for diabetics to control their blood sugar throughout the day. That way, they can avoid blood sugar peaks with treatment.

Remember that if you are diagnosed with diabetes or a precursor to diabetes, it is important to see a doctor and have check-ups. Don’t wait for symptoms or complications, just see a doctor.

Treatment of diabetic eye diseases

Medications can be effective in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy. The most commonly used drugs are anti-VEGFs and corticosteroids. Anti-VEGF preparations reduce the proliferation of blood vessels around the retina. Doctors inject them into the eye as an injection. They also reduce macular edema.

Corticosteroids, on the other hand, control swelling. However, the drugs do not work in some cases where surgery is needed. According to a hospital in Barcelona, ​​doctors must resort to surgery in the following cases:

• Very frequent or recurrent eye bleeding
• Macular edema that does not respond to treatments
• Retinal detachment

Diabetes is a silent disease

Diabetic eye diseases are caused by poor control of the glycemic index, especially in people who have been diagnosed with diabetes many years earlier. However, we want to emphasize that most of these diseases are preventable.

For this reason, it is important that the patient see a doctor annually or every six months. Adherence to dietary recommendations and lifestyle changes can reduce the incidence of disease.