Diabetes Side Effects: Eye Diseases

People with diabetes are much more likely to get eye diseases than people without diabetes. People with this disease mainly develop retinopathy, cataracts, and glaucoma. Retinopathy is the most common in this group.

Retinopathy is a condition wherein there is damage to the small blood vessels in the retina. The retina is the lining in the back of the eye. This lining senses light. When this becomes damaged a person's sight can be affected.

There are two types of retinopathy. Nonproliferative retinopathy is a when the blood vessels in the retina bulge and form pockets. This condition can cause leaking of the blood vessels. It also weakens the vessels. This type of retinopathy does not cause damage to one's sight and rarely gets worse.

Proliferative retinopathy is when the vessels are damaged to the point where they close off and blood flow is affected. Nonproliferative retinopathy can sometimes develop into the more serious type. New blood vessels grow in response to the closures and then branch out into other areas of the eye. This may not affect the sight. Or, the person may have trouble seeing in the dark or switching from dark to light areas.

These new blood vessels are weaker and have a high potential for problems later. There is a greater potential for breaking and leaking. The most common signs of this condition are blurred vision and floating spots. These new blood vessels may also cause the retina to grow scar tissue. This can cause the retina to detach and greatly endanger the patient's sight.

Cataracts are also a common eye disease suffered by diabetics. A cataract is when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy. This makes it difficult to see through the lens. Cataracts start out small and sometimes they never worsen or get bigger. The trouble is when it gets bigger or thicker and clouds the entire field of vision. Some signs of cataracts are fuzzy vision, new glasses don't help, blinking a lot, feeling of film over eyes, light seems too bright, and colors look dull. If, for any reason, you think you might have cataracts, you should see your eye doctor as soon as possible.