Your Eyesight and Diabetes

Diabetes is a horrific disease that affects millions of people in ways that the average, healthy human cannot understand. While you can live well into your elderly years with diabetes, there are certain rituals that a diabetic sticks to day in and day out that make it possible to live well into those years. Those rituals may involve glucose blood tests, better dietary habits, and even medication. It's not uncommon to believe that in the same way someone with the flu feels like their whole body is affected, someone with diabetes will also have other complications that affect various parts of their body - like their eyes. Diabetes, if not treated properly, can wreak havoc on a person's body and the eyes are definitely not excluded from it.

In order for you to better understand how a diabetic's eyes can be affected, let's discuss what diabetes is. Basically, a normal body produces and metabolizes insulin which helps aid in the digestion of food and helps your body use the nutrients and minerals that derive from the foods you eat. Someone with diabetes has a body that does not function like that. Their body does not produce enough insulin and can't properly digest the sugars that come from food. In addition to that, their body can't use the sugars and carbohydrates properly or in the same fashion that a healthy person's body does.
There are three types of diabetes: Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational. Type 1 is generally contracted before age 30. It's monitored daily with blood tests and can be controlled with daily insulin injections. This type is also called insulin dependent. Type 2 is commonly referred to as late onset diabetes because it occurs within the elderly and within the overweight population. It can be controlled through diet, exercise, and sometimes with medication. Type 2 diabetes will usually disappear in those that are overweight once they return and maintain a healthy weight. The last type of diabetes occurs within pregnant women and is known as gestational diabetes mellitus. In most cases, it lasts through the duration of a woman's pregnancy and then vanishes. However, there is an increased chance that a woman suffering from gestational diabetes will be at risk for either type 1 or 2 diabetes later in life, and she will be monitored with regular blood tests and a special diet.
When it comes to diabetes and your eye sight, you may never be affected by diabetic complications. In most cases, though, diabetics often have some visual complication because your retina works by being supplied blood through a network of blood vessels. Since diabetes can damage the blood vessels, your vision may be compromised through your retina and lens - which could result in retinopathy or cataracts.
Early diagnosis of any eye problems is key to saving your eye sight! If you're diabetic, you shouldn't wait for the symptoms to arise, go to your ophthalmologist to have your eyeglass prescription checked. Make sure your eyes are checked regularly - around once every year or so, and visit your doctor immediately if your vision changes at all! If you are unable to see out of your current prescription eyeglasses, it's a good indication that something is wrong and you should head to the doctor immediately!
Hillary Glaser is a social networking specialist and expert in cross-media promotion, currently working on promoting prescription eyeglasses. She is the Director of Marketing and Special Projects for GlassesUSA.com - the easiest way to buy glasses online, which now offers free shipping on all US orders with the code FreeShip10.