If you have diabetes, you are at an increased risk of developing a number of medical complications, including eye, foot, heart and kidney problems. Chronically high blood sugar levels due to diabetes can damage and weaken the blood vessels that provide nourishment to your eyes. Even if you have your diabetes under control, you are more susceptible to developing diabetic retinopathy, cataracts or glaucoma due to this medical condition.
Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy is the most common form of eye disease experienced by people with diabetes, reports the National Eye Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This disease occurs when the blood vessels that flow to your retina--the lining within the back of your eye that allows you to perceive light--become damaged.
There are two major stages of diabetic retinopathy: nonproliferative and proliferative. Nonproliferative retinopathy is the earliest stage of this disease and causes the blood vessels in the retina to swell. Typically, you do not experience symptoms during this stage of the disease. As retinal damage progresses and remains untreated, patients develop proliferative retinopathy. During this stage of the disease, blood from the damaged blood vessels can leak into the middle of the eye and cause vision problems. Though certain people with proliferative retinopathy do not experience symptoms initially, most people begin to experience blurred or double vision as a result of this condition. If proliferative retinopathy remains untreated, patients with this condition can develop blindness in one or both eyes.
Cataracts
Though anyone can develop cataracts, the American Diabetes Association estimates that the risk of developing this condition is 60 percent higher in diabetes patients. Diabetes patients are also more likely to develop cataracts when they are younger than the usual cataract patient. Cataracts typically develop slowly in both eyes and cause clouding within the lenses of your eyes.
Symptoms of cataracts can include blurry or clouded vision, difficulty seeing at night, increased sensitivity to light or double vision in one eye. In certain cases, cataracts can cause diabetes patients to develop glaucoma.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a condition caused by the buildup of pressure within the eye. If you have diabetes, the American Diabetes Association reports that your risk of developing glaucoma is 40 percent higher than people who do not have diabetes. When pressure builds up within the eye, the blood vessels that lead to the retina and optic nerve become pinched. This can cause symptoms such as eye pain, blurred vision and loss of peripheral vision to develop in certain patients.
