Save your vision

Part 2

Whether a change in vision was the first sign of diabetes for you, or blurred vision is a possible complication of your diabetes, it is important to consider the health of your eyes.

Lower your cholesterol

Lowering your cholesterol will not only improve your overall heart health, it will also improve your eye health.

Deposits of cholesterol, called plaque, can form inside the arteries throughout the body. “This build-up can reduce the blood flow to any given area of the body, including your eyes,” says optometrist Robert Layman. “This can compromise the nutrition and oxygen supply your eyes need.”

Having high cholesterol by itself won’t cause noticeable complications in your eyes, but in combination with having diabetes it can help eye problems progress more rapidly, says ophthalmologist Peter Kaiser. “Controlling your lipids, along with controlling your blood glucose levels, will prevent further damage down the road.”

Quit smoking

Smoking causes damage throughout your entire body, including your eyes. When you inhale cigarette smoke, the toxic chemicals absorbed into your bloodstream deplete the antioxidant reserve that protects your body from free radicals, which may cause macula damage, says Kaiser.

The macula is a specialised part of the retina that creates your central vision and lets you see fine detail such as the letters on a computer screen. When the macula is damaged,

it leads to the development of macular degeneration, a chronic eye disorder that deteriorates the eye tissue responsible for central vision.

Smoking may also cause damage to the lens of your eye. The lenses inside your eyes are elastic, but smoking prematurely ages them, making them rigid and discoloured. “This can cloud or blur your sight and may obstruct the path of vision,” says Layman.

“It may also hasten the need for reading glasses in middle age.”

Find the perfect pair of spectacles

For the safety of your eyes, you need to ensure you select the perfect pair of glasses and/or sunglasses. As far as which colour lens to choose, Kaiser says the colour doesn’t matter as long as it has the UV protection.

You can even purchase eyeglasses with no colour that can have a UV protective lining.

“In fact, cheap lenses that are dark and have no UV protection can often be more dangerous,” he says. “The dark sunglasses make your pupils larger, allowing more UV rays to enter than if you were not wearing the sunglasses.

What to do when your eyesight fades

If you are already experiencing some problems with your vision, your doctor may recommend treatments such as laser eye surgery or cataract surgery.

Laser eye surgery is recommended for those who have diabetic retinopathy, macular edema or retinal swelling, and proliferative diabetic retinopathy where the growth of new blood vessels can cause bleeding.

Meanwhile, cataract surgery involves removing the natural lens in the eye when it becomes clouded and replacing it with an artificial lens. It is the main treatment for cataracts.

When a person with diabetes has cataracts and diabetic retinopathy, the retinopathy needs to be treated more aggressively before cataract surgery can be considered. If macular edema is present before cataract surgery, visual results may be worse than expected.

It is important to discuss all available options with your doctor and opthalmologist before deciding which is the best form of treatment for you.