Diabetes impacts many bodily systems, including your eyes. Blurry vision, cataracts, and retinopathy concern your ophthalmologists in Baton Rouge, LA, Dr. John Couvillion, Dr. Barbara Noguchi, Dr. Robert Mason and Dr. Jimenez. Their precise care at Retina & Vitreous of Louisiana, combined with your vigilance, reduces the impact of diabetes on your eyes and avoids vision loss.
Why does diabetes harm your vision?
Both type-one and type-two diabetes change your blood glucose levels, making them too high or too low. This hypo- or hyperglycemia impacts how your eyes function and even the structure of the eyes themselves. If diabetes and eye-related disease remain untreated, vision loss–to one extent or another–can result.
In Baton Rouge, LA, the professional staff at Retina & Vitreous of Louisiana encourages all diabetics to get routine eye exams regularly. These check-ups detect problems early when treatments are most effective and damage can be avoided or limited.
Diabetes and eye-related issues
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) reports that diabetics are at risk for the following eye conditions:
- Early cataracts
- Retinopathy
- Glaucoma
Cataracts begin dimming vision after age 40. The lens which allows light to pass through your eye becomes cloudy and stiff, reducing your ability to see clearly at night and to perceive the brightness of colors. Diabetics experience cataracts of greater severity and at an earlier age and may require lens replacement sooner than their non-diabetic peers.
Retinopathy involves an overgrowth of the tiny blood vessels at the back of the eye. Focus and vision loss occurs rapidly if retinopathy is undetected. Scar tissue forms and can cause the retina itself to detach from the eye. Our Baton Rouge, LA, patients respond well to in-office photocoagulation procedures which seal leaking blood vessels and halt their proliferation. A surgery called vitrectomy removes scar tissue from the jelly-like vitreous humor in the eyeball.
Glaucoma is a dangerous increase in the pressures inside the eyeball. Age and diabetes are the biggest risk factors for the various kinds of glaucoma. Typically, eye drops to control the intraocular pressures, and sometimes, our physicians perform surgery.
Your vision is precious
At Retina & Vitreous of Louisiana in Baton Rouge, our board-certified eye surgeons provide state of the art diagnostics, treatments, and surgeries in our beautiful facility. We proudly serve patients in the Baton Rouge, LA, area.
If you are diabetic and want the best in vision care, contact us for a consultation with Dr. John Couvillion, Dr. Barbara Noguchi, Dr. Robert Mason or Dr. Jorge Jimenez. They will help you protect your eyes from vision loss and other issues associated with diabetes. Call today: (225) 768-8833.