How diabetes can affect the eyes

The metabolic disease diabetes mellitus affects various parts of the body, including the eyes. Most importantly, elevated blood glucose levels are harmful to the fine blood vessels that are responsible for supplying the eyes. This can have serious consequences.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease and one of the most common diseases of modern civilization. Diabetes affects about eight million people in Germany alone. Since a diabetic’s body can no longer adequately regulate sugar balance, the blood glucose levels fluctuate considerably. This creates various health problems, including those affecting the eyes.

In healthy people, the hormone insulin is produced in the pancreas and ensures that the sugar from the food enters the blood stream during digestion and thus reaches the body’s cells, where it is stored as an energy reserve which is released when needed. Depending on the type of diabetes, the body either cannot produce insulin at all (type 1) or cannot use it properly (type 2), because insulin-dependent organs respond to insulin only with a delay or not at all.

The consequences: The sugar from food remains in the blood where it can cause changes to blood vessels and damage to the cells, which in the long run can have an effect on the function of the organs.

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What are the symptoms of diabetes?

The first signs of diabetes may be:

a strong feeling of thirst
a constant urge to urinate
sudden weight loss
fatigue
drop of performance
impaired vision
itching or tingling of the skin
dry eyes

If you experience these symptoms in yourself, you should be examined by your family doctor. The sooner diabetes is diagnosed, the better consequential damage can be prevented.

What eye problems are associated with diabetes?

A variety of eye diseases occur in diabetes due to damage caused by the fluctuating blood glucose levels:

Dry eyes: Very often diabetics suffer from dry eyes, which cause unpleasant symptoms such as itching, burning and redness or a foreign body sensation. Dry eyes can severely restrict the quality of life and increase the risk of suffering from other infections and inflammations. That is why diabetics should take their symptoms seriously and treat them after consulting their doctor.
Diabetic retinopathy: A consequential disease of diabetes is diabetic retinopathy. This is a disease of the retina in which damage to the small blood vessel develops.
Diabetic macular oedema: High blood glucose levels are also the cause of diabetic macular oedema. In the eye, fluid deposits are formed in the centre of the retina (macula), which can severely limit vision.

How does diabetes cause dry eyes?

Elevated blood glucose levels in diabetics usually affect the blood circulation and the nerves that supply the eyes. If these nerves are damaged, then tear production of the eyes also gets out of balance. If too little tear fluid is produced, then the eyes dry out and become irritated because they lack the required protective film. Conjunctivitis or inflammation of the eyelid margins are often the result of the chronic wetting disorders in diabetics.

What is diabetic retinopathy?

Diabetic retinopathy is a disease of the retina which can lead to loss of vision. It is one of the most common causes of blindness in people aged between 20 and 65 years. Diabetic retinopathy is caused by high blood glucose levels affecting the capillaries, the fine blood vessels in the eye. On the one hand, the capillaries can become obstructed, resulting in an insufficient supply of nutrients and oxygen to the retina. On the other hand, fluid and blood can leak from the blood vessels into the tissue and cause swelling in the retina as the walls become permeable as a result of the elevated blood glucose levels.

If the disease remains unrecognised, serious alterations to the retina or even retinal detachment can develop. There is then a risk of complete blindness.

Also interesting:The effect of medications on the eyes

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InfographicDiabetes and dry eyes

What can I do about these eye complaints?

Damage to the eyes can only be prevented, or at least limited, in diabetics if the glucose sugar is within the normal range. Therefore, the treatment lies primarily in the therapy of the diabetes. The symptoms of dry eyes can be relieved with lubricating eye drops or nourishing eye ointment. They protect the eyes from drying out and reduce irritations.

When do I need to see a doctor for my eye complaints?

If you suffer from diabetes mellitus you should visit your eye specialist regularly for examinations in order to be able to react early enough in the event of changes in vision. This is because diabetes can quickly cause damage to the sensitive cornea. Only follow-up examinations can prevent, or at least delay, secondary damage, such as blindness.

In any event, it is important for maintaining eye health to control blood glucose levels by administering insulin so that it remains within the normal range.