Diabetic Eye Disease

The diabetes has been identified as a major risk factor when suffer a number of eye diseases, receiving the generic name of diabetic eye disease and some of which can lead to blindness. In fact, the eyes are after the kidneys, the organs most affectsdiabetes . Hence adherence to treatment and proper control of blood glucose levels is the best way to prevent them.

The most common are:

  

• Diabetic retinopathy is the most serious eye disease that can cause diabetesand is characterized by inflammation of the retina as a result of the weakening of blood vessels that irrigate because of the presence of high levels of blood glucose.It was situation can cause blood to leak fluid or blood vessels forming such a fibrous tissue that makes the image sent to the brain blurred image. The existence of hypertension benefits their development. Sometimes this disease can cause retinal detachment and consequently cause blindness.
    
• Macular edema: It usually occurs in advanced stages of diabetic retinopathy and involves swelling of the macula. It affects the central vision.

  

• Optic neuropathy: the optic nerve is damaged by the death of nerve cells, for example, because of the blockage of blood vessels. Depending on the damage, vision loss that occurs is unrecoverable.
    
• Cataract: although it is a very eye disease of the aging process, the existence ofdiabetes can significantly advance its appearance. The cataract is characterized by the formation of a gray film on the lens due to protein accumulation, so that obstructs the passage of light blurred vision.
   
• Glaucoma: the diabetes doubles the risk of a person to suffer an increase in intraocular pressure (IOP) and therefore, for developing glaucoma. In the United States, for example, two-thirds of glaucoma have their origin in a diabetes poorly controlled, one of the major causes of blindness in the world.
    

It is important to note that some of these eye diseases caused by diabetes start without symptoms and are progressively developed, so it is advisable to perform a complete eye examination every so often to detect them as soon as possible, before the damage is irreversible.