cloudy lenses in the eyes. Welter had surgery to correct the cataract and says it changed her world because it gave her so much of her vision back in her remaining eye.
Her advice to others with diabetes is, “Get a team of people around you to help manage your diabetes — family, friends, co-workers, endocrinologist, diabetes educator, registered dietician and an eye doctor. If you catch eye problems early, you can treat it.”
Tracey Brown, CEO of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), also stresses the need for early care.
“One-third of people with diabetes have complications related to their eyes, and eye care doesn’t get nearly the attention it should,” Brown says. “Eye care needs to be a priority, even during this stressful time, because if you can do the things that are required, you don’t necessarily have to have the eye problems of diabetes.”
Brown recently led an expert panel for the ADA’s Focus on Diabetes: Look Closer at Eye Health initiative, including experts from the ADA, VSP Vision Care and Regeneron.
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Protecting your eyes
There are four types of eye disease that are more common in people with diabetes, according to the U.S. National Eye Institute (NEI):
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Diabetic macular edema
- Glaucoma
- Cataracts
These conditions are more common in people who have higher blood sugar levels, so managing your diabetes well can help prevent eye disease, the NEI said.
There are a number of symptoms of eye disease that should prompt a visit to an eye doctor. These include:
- Blurred or wavy vision
- Vision that changes frequently, possibly from day to day
- Areas with no vision
- Dark areas in your vision
- Difficulty seeing colors
- Seeing spots or dark strings (floaters)
- Light flashes
But even if you don’t have symptoms of eye disease, it’s important to have annual dilated eye exams, according to the experts involved in the ADA’s eye initiative.
Kate Renwick-Espinosa, president of VSP Vision Care, says, “For the more than 100 million people with diabetes or prediabetes, an annual eye exam plays a critical role in preventing blindness.”
There are newer medications that can treat diabetic eye disease, as well as laser procedures and surgeries that can help people with diabetes avoid vision loss.
Welter still regularly sees her eye doctor and a retinal specialist. Her doctors believe if Welter’s problems had started today, they would have been able to save her eye.
“The key to your eye health is control. Keep control of your blood sugar levels, exercise in some form — even if you have to sit in a chair and do exercises, there’s always a way. If you notice any changes in your vision, immediately consult your eye doctor. About 95 percent of eye disease is treatable if you get to it early,” she says.