7 Unusual Symptoms of Diabetes In Eyes: Here’s How A Diabetic Eye Looks Like

Diabetes, an irreversible health condition that arises from uncontrolled or unmanaged high blood sugar levels is one of the top diseases found in India. According to the statistics, half of the Indians are dealing with this health condition. As per the global health body, India is called the ‘capital’ of diabetes.

Diabetes can affect your body in many ways. It affects the body’s ability to produce or use insulin effectively to control blood sugar (glucose) levels. Insulin is a hormone used in the conversion of blood glucose (that the body gets from food) into energy that the body requires to function properly. When a person is diagnosed with diabetes, it means he/she has too much glucose in the blood. Diabetes can damage the heart, kidneys and blood vessels. It damages small blood vessels in the eye as well. Even if diabetes is well controlled, it can affect your regular eye care. Today, in this article, we will take a close look at the signs that the eyes can give when blood sugar levels are getting out of control.

How Does Diabetes Affect The Eyes?

Diabetic eye disease is a group of all the possible eye problems that can affect a patient suffering from the condition. These complications in the eyes of a diabetic can include diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular oedema, cataracts, and glaucoma. There are 4 major contributors to a diabetic eye, these include:

Uncontrolled high blood sugar
High blood pressure
Unmanaged high blood cholesterol and
Excessive smoking

What are the Symptoms of Diabetic Eye Disease?

Here are some signs and symptoms of diabetes that one can spot in their eyes:

Blurry vision, or seeing everything extra hazy.
Frequently changing vision—sometimes from day to day.
Dark areas or vision loss.
Unable to understand or detect colours.
Spots or dark strings (also called floaters).
Flashes of light.
Uneasiness in the corners of the eyes.

However, there is something that one should also know about this condition and its early symptoms in the eyes. According to the experts, often there are no early symptoms of diabetic eye disease. One may not even have any kind of pain or changes in vision as damage begins to grow inside the eyes, particularly with diabetic retinopathy.

How To Manage Diabetic Eyes?

As per experts, uncontrolled and unmanaged diabetes can cause severe damage to the eye and can also lead to vision loss or blindness. But this can be managed with some easy lifestyle changes, or by simply taking care of the condition. Below listed are some of the best ways to manage diabetes and keep the eye healthy.

Keep a close check on your blood glucose levels.
Manage your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Exercise regularly to keep blood pressure under control with obesity at bay.
If you smoke, get help to quit smoking External link.
Have a dilated eye exam once a year.

Note: The best preventive measure for a diabetic eye is getting a full, dilated eye exam annually.