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For older folks with diabetes, vision loss is a serious problem. If left untreated, diabetes can lead to increasingly blurry vision, even to blindness. The good news is that with treatment, careful control of blood sugar levels and regular check-ups, vision loss from diabetes can often be reduced or even eliminated.
Diabetic Retinopathy
For those with diabetes, the most common form of vision loss is diabetic retinopathy. It takes place when high blood sugar causes tiny blood vessels in the eye to grow and occasionally leak blood and other fluids onto the retina.
Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy include:
People may not experience any symptoms in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy. It is important to have an eye exam every year. Doctors will typically check for:
Vision damage can be held to a minimum by keeping blood sugar and blood pressure levels under control. It also helps to take medications as prescribed, eat proper foods, and stay active. When your meet with your doctor, you can also be checked for other diabetic eye disorders identified by the National Eye Institute , part of the National Institutes of Health, including:
Prevention is Key
If you have diabetes it’s important to have your vision tested, even if you have no symptoms. While most eye problems related to diabetes problems can be minor, blindness from diabetes-related complications is still an issue.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) says most people with diabetes may develop eye disorders like “floaters” (dark spots or strings floating in your vision), blurred eyesight, or less-than-perfect color vision. But the ADA also says nobody should be lulled into false security and offers insight and information on eye care and eye complications to avoid problems that may eventually lead to blindness.
Major eye disorders linked to diabetes include:
See your eye doctor at least once a year if you have any type of diabetes and more often if your doctor directs. It’s a small price to pay to keep your eyesight.
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Last Updated: 4/1/2019