November is National Diabetes Month

November is National Diabetes Month and we here at Shoreline Vision would like to share some helpful tips regarding your eye health and diabetes.

Did you know that diabetes can lead to eye disease? If left with no treatment, it can result in vision loss or even blindness. To help keep your vision healthy, here are five things Shoreline Vision would like you to understand about diabetic eye disease:

A Cluster of Eye Problems

People with diabetes may encounter a number of eye problems as a complication of this particular disease. They include cataract, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy, which is the most popular cause of blindness in American adults age 20-74.

No Symptoms, No Discomfort

In its beginning, diabetic retinopathy has no symptoms. A person may not discover vision changes until the disease advances. Blurred vision may take place when the macula swells from the leaking fluid (called macular edema). If new vessels have grown on the surface of the retina, they can seep into the eye, blocking vision.

Already Have Diabetes?

You are at risk. Anybody with diabetes is at risk of getting diabetic retinopathy. The greater the time someone has diabetes, the more probable they will get this eye disease. In fact, between 40 and 45 percent of those with diagnosed diabetes have some degree of diabetic retinopathy.

Stay On Track

That is: Take your medications as prescribed by your medical professional; Achieve and preserve a healthy and balanced weight; Add more physical activity to your everyday schedule; Control your ABC’s: A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels; and Kick the smoking habit.

Acquire a Dilated Eye Examination

If you have diabetes, make sure to have an extensive dilated eye exam at the very least once a year. Diabetic eye disease could be detected early on and treated before noticeable vision loss occurs.