Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetes is a disease that affects the body’s ability to use and produce insulin to control blood glucose levels. We wonder how many readers are aware that diabetes can affect your heart, kidneys, legs, nerves, and even your gums and teeth. In addition, this disease affects your vision if you’re not keeping blood sugar levels in check. Today we deal with one issue. How does diabetes cause vision loss?

Diabetes is a health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. 37 million Americans have diabetes and another 96 million have pre-diabetes, and in the last two decades the number of adults newly diagnosed with diabetes has doubled. This disease affects many systems in our bodies, and one of the most well-known effects is what it can do to your vision. The longer you have diabetes, the more serious the effects. What are the signs that diabetes is affecting your eyes?

If you have diabetes, an annual eye exam is non-negotiable. There are several serious eye diseases which can progress without your knowledge until it’s too late to save your vision. If you have delayed an exam or if you were just diagnosed with diabetes, here is a guide to diabetic eye exams and what to expect.