HOME > BLOG 16 MARCH 2020 By Nicholas Bayliss, The Fred Hollows Foundation
What health issues immediately spring to mind when you think of diabetes? Heart disease? kidney problems? Nerve damage? While all of these issues can result from diabetes, less commonly known is the impact diabetes can have on your eyesight. In fact, did you know that diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in the world’s working age population? Diabetes is becoming a global epidemic, as a result of modern diets and lifestyles. According to the World Health Organization, the number of people diagnosed with diabetes globally rose by 314 million between 1980 and 2014. Another cause for concern is that everyone who has diabetes is at risk of developing irreversible eye problems that can leave you permanently blind. COVER PHOTO: A simple blood test to discover if diabetes is present | PHOTO CREDIT: Sandy Scheltema (2003)
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While diabetes causes a variety of eye conditions such as cataract, glaucoma, loss of focussing ability and double vision, the disease known as diabetic retinopathy is the most rapidly rising cause of vision loss from diabetes. When a person has high and varying blood sugar levels, the blood vessels in the retina can become damaged and cause vision loss and even blindness. This occurrence is called diabetic retinopathy (DR).
Diabetic retinopathy most commonly occurs in both eyes and in most cases starts with no visual symptoms. In the early stages, the walls of the blood vessels in the retina weaken. A tear-like fluid and blood will often then leak into the eye, which can result in blurred vision. The eyesight will then be dramatically further impaired by new blood vessels growing within the retina.
Diabetic retinopathy is considered an “avoidable blindness”. That means that early detection can help prevent vision loss, provided the diabetes can be controlled. According to the National Eye Institute, with improvements in early detection and treatment, there’s a 95% reduction in the risk diabetes poses to your eyesight. The biggest factors in bringing these levels back under control are managing the blood sugar levels and the overall blood pressure of the patient. More specifically, limiting the levels of fat in the blood and doing more exercise contribute to slowing the adverse effects of diabetes. Furthermore, eating healthy food, remaining in control of your weight and quitting smoking will help in controlling these risk factors. More specific preventive measures include treating the retina with radiation and where resources permit, the injection of medications into the eye. If not treated promptly then the retina may become detached from the back of the eye, meaning that even surgery will not restore vision in the affected eye.
Nicholas Bayliss - The Fred Hollows Foundation Nick is the Digital Content Producer for The Fred Hollows Foundation. Nick's aim is to produce helpful articles that answer the questions our audiences are asking online.
Do you know how many Australians are diagnosed with diabetes every day? And that it can cause blindness? So, how do you avoid that? Here’s Fred’s tip. To keep up with the latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.