Diabetes and the Eyes
Diabetes is a very serious condition that affects hundreds of thousands of people every year throughout the world. A person with diabetes suffers from higher than healthy blood sugar levels as a result of the body’s inability either to
produce a sufficient amount of insulin or properly absorb the insulin being produced. Unfortunately, beyond the high blood sugar that is a direct result of diabetes, many complications arise as an indirect result of diabetes, particularly when it comes to a person’s eyes.
First Eye Care in Corsicana, TX explains, “Diabetic retinopathy is possibly the most serious eye condition related to diabetes. This occurs as a result of extended periods of high blood sugar. Diabetic retinopathy comes in two types: nonproliferative and proliferative.”
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Diabetes is a disease that affects the way we process food for energy and growth. With all forms of diabetes—type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes—the body has trouble converting sugar in the blood into energy, resulting in a host of potential health problems.
- People with diabetes are prone to developing cataracts at an earlier age.
- People with diabetes are almost 50% more likely to develop glaucoma
- Macular degeneration is more common in people with diabetes due to malfunctioning blood vessels in the middle region of the retina responsible for central, sharp vision.
- People with diabetes can develop diabetic retinopathy; an eye disease that affects the blood vessels in the all-important retina. Nearly 45 percent of Americans diagnosed with diabetes have some stage of diabetic retinopathy.