Diabetes

Diabetes is a common condition that can cause many severe complications, including eye disease. If you have diabetes, highly skilled ophthalmologist Elena Nguyen, MD, at ENvision Eye Care in Foster City, California, offers expert diagnosis and treatment of diabetic eye disease. She can identify and successfully treat conditions like diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and cataracts that often arise in people with diabetes. Call ENvision Eye Care or schedule an appointment online today to arrange your sight-saving diabetic eye exam.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes develops when your body can’t regulate the quantity of sugar in your blood. You need some sugar for easily accessible energy, but too much can cause long-term damage to your nerves, blood vessels, and organs.

Your body uses a hormone, insulin, to control blood sugar. Your pancreas should make all the insulin you need, but in some people, the system malfunctions. With type 1 diabetes, the immune system destroys pancreatic cells that produce insulin. With type 2 diabetes, your pancreas makes insufficient insulin, or your body becomes insulin resistant.

Without treatment, diabetes can cause multiple complications, including kidney failure, cardiovascular disease, and several eye disorders.

What eye problems does diabetes cause?

The most common eye problems people with diabetes suffer from include:

Diabetic retinopathy

Retinopathy refers to disease of the retina, a nerve layer at the back of your eye that lets you see clearly. High blood sugar levels from poorly managed diabetes can damage the retinal blood vessels.

Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of adult blindness in the United States. Some people develop swollen blood vessels in the retina that leak fluid or blood, which can lead to retinal damage and permanent vision loss.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma causes optic nerve damage that affects messages from your eyes to your brain. The cause is pressure on the optic nerve due to abnormal fluid levels in the eyeball. Diabetes increases your risk of the fluid buildup that causes glaucoma.

Cataracts

Cataracts are clouded lenses near the front of your eye. It’s not uncommon to get cataracts later in life because of the changes in your body as you age. However, having diabetes significantly increases your risk of getting cataracts.  

How are diabetic eye disorders treated?

The treatment you need for a diabetic eye condition depends on the specific disease and how it’s affecting you.

Most importantly, you should ensure you manage your diabetes properly. Work with your primary care provider and/or endocrinologist (a diabetes specialist) to ensure you make any necessary lifestyle changes, take any medications like metformin or supplementary insulin you need, and undergo regular checkups.

ENvision Eye Care uses the latest retinal imaging technology to screen for and manage diabetic eye disorders. Dr. Nguyen also offers intravitreal injections (medicated injections into the eyeball) for diabetic retinal disease.

If you have diabetes, don’t wait until you experience symptoms of eye disease before seeking help. Arrange an eye exam at ENvision Eye Care or book one online today.