| More than 90% of all
diabetes related eye problems, including blindness, can be prevented
with excellent blood sugar control and regular care by an eye
specialist. Diabetes requires a yearly dilated eye exam, but for any
sudden changes in your vision, see your eye doctor immediately.
Diabetic retinopathy is a common
complication of diabetes. It affects the tiny blood vessels of the
retina (innermost layer of the eye). Retinal blood vessels can break
down, leak, or become blocked—affecting and impairing vision over
time. Diabetic retinopathy can affect almost anyone with diabetes.
In general, the longer someone has diabetes, the greater the risk of
developing diabetic retinopathy. Research suggests that the risk of
diabetic retinopathy can be reduced through careful control of blood
sugar. If problems do occur, laser treatments for diabetic
retinopathy are available.
Diabetes also increases the risk of
other eye diseases such as cataract and glaucoma. Cataract is a
clouding of the eye’s naturally clear lens. Most cataracts appear
with advancing age, but can also occur as a result of diabetes.
Cataract removal is now one of the most commonly performed surgical
procedures with more than a million such surgeries performed each
year. Cataracts affect nearly 20.5 million Americans age 40 and
older. By age 80, more than half of all Americans have cataracts.
Glaucoma is a disease that causes a
gradual degeneration of cells that make up the optic nerve which
carries visual information from the eye to the brain. As the nerve
cells die, vision is slowly lost. Often, the loss of vision is
unnoticeable until a significant amount of nerve damage has
occurred. For this reason, as many as half of all people with
glaucoma may be unaware of their disease. The exact cause is
uncertain, but elevated fluid pressure within the eye (intraocular
pressure) seems related in some way to all cases of glaucoma. Most
cases of glaucoma can be controlled and vision loss slowed or halted
with treatment. Medications, laser treatments and surgery can be
used to lower intraocular pressure. However, any vision lost to
glaucoma cannot be restored. Unfortunately glaucoma cannot be
prevented. Factors that increase the risk of glaucoma include age,
race, diabetes, eye trauma, and long-term use of steroid
medications.
For more information contact:
The National Eye Institute
301-496-5248 or www.nei.nih.gov
The Glaucoma Foundation
1-800-452-8266 or www.glaucomafoundation.org
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