How to Protect Your Eye Health if You’re a Diabetic

Everyone should schedule professional eye exams as part of their preventive health care. Routine eye exams are particularly crucial for people with diabetes. 

At Wicker Park Eye Center in Chicago, Illinois, we work with many patients who have diabetes, monitoring their eye health to preserve their long-term vision. Whether you’ve lived with diabetes for years or were recently diagnosed, we can help. 

If you have diabetes, here are ways to protect your eye health for the long term. 

Diabetes often causes eye health problems

Diabetes is a disease in which your pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or can’t make proper use of the insulin it does produce. Insulin is a hormone that helps a type of sugar (glucose) enter the cells throughout your body. 

Glucose provides the fuel your cells need to thrive. When glucose can’t enter the cells, it builds up in your bloodstream, causing problems. 

One way diabetes can affect your health is by limiting your circulation. Without healthy circulation, your tissues and organs don’t receive enough oxygen and nourishment to function. 

Your eyes contain tiny blood vessels. Diabetes limits the flow of blood to and within your eyes, and high blood sugar can damage the tiny blood vessels. That can lead to conditions like diabetic retinopathy and macular edema. 

People with diabetes are at greater risk of glaucoma and cataracts than people without diabetes. Dry eyes are also common among people with diabetes. 

If your blood sugar levels rise and fall quickly, it can cause swelling in the lens of your eye, leading to blurred vision. This swelling often resolves once your blood sugar stabilizes. 

However, if you’re unaware that you have diabetes or don’t let our team know, we may recommend corrective lenses or update your prescription based on a temporary condition. 

Take steps to protect and preserve your eye health

A good way to protect against eye problems is to work with your primary care provider to manage your diabetes. That might mean medication combined with lifestyle changes, such as improving your nutrition and activity levels. Supplemental insulin may also be necessary. 

It’s also crucial to attend annual diabetic eye exams. Our office has the advanced tools and technology to create images of your entire retina. That allows us to assess the health of the blood vessels in your eyes and detect issues in the earliest possible stages. 

Annual eye exams create a timeline of your eye health. We can track changes over the years to see how well your diabetes management plan works. 

During your initial visit, share your full health history with Dr. Daniel Tepper and his team. We advise you on how often you should come in for eye exams, and if you have any current eye health issues, we can explore treatment options. 

Call Wicker Park Eye Center or request an appointment online today.