Diabetes can have a significant
effect on your eyes and vision. Diabetes is a disease that affects the body’s
ability to produce or use insulin effectively to control blood sugar levels.
Although glucose is an important source of energy for the body’s cells, too
much glucose in the blood for a long time can cause damage in many parts of the
body, including the heart, kidneys, blood vessels and the small blood vessels
in the eyes. When the blood vessels in the retina swell, leak or close off
completely, or if abnormal new blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina,
it results in diabetic retinopathy.
Those people who are at greater risk of developing diabetic retinopathy are
those with poor blood sugar control, women who are pregnant and people with
high blood pressure, high blood lipids or both. Also, people who are from
certain ethnic groups, such as African-Americans, Hispanics and Native
Americans, are more likely to develop diabetic retinopathy. Diabetes can cause
vision in your eyes to change even if you do not have retinopathy. If your
blood sugar levels change quickly, it can affect the shape of your eye’s
crystalline lens, causing blurry vision, which goes back to normal after your
blood sugar stabilizes. Maintaining good control of your blood sugar helps
reduce episodes of blurry vision.
If you or someone you know has
diabetes or even high blood sugar, especially if there is a family history of
diabetes-you should have regular eye exams to help protect your eye health and
vision. Please feel free to call Center for Sight at 508-730-2020, visit www.center-for-sight.com or www.facebook.com/centerforsightfallriver to schedule an appointment.
Center for Sight is conveniently
located at 1565 North Main Street, Suite 406, Fall River, Massachusetts
02720 for
patients from Massachusetts or Rhode Island.
