Eye Sight & Diabetes – Minimizing or Reversing Diabetic Retinopathy

There is hope for individuals that suffer with conditions of their eyesight & diabetes. The challenges they face are often a result of their body’s inability to produce enough of the insulin hormone, or the produced insulin simply has a diminished effect in the body.

Insulin is the hormone that is used to regulate the way the body interacts with food that has been consumed. Individuals with diabetes cannot properly cope with carbohydrates and sugars.

Diabetes is often a condition that develops later in life, although it can occur in children. Type I and Type II diabetes will often affect various parts of the human body including the eyes. Each type of diabetes has its own description that includes:

Type I Diabetes – Often occurring in individuals 30 years and younger, the condition will produce little or no insulin. Treatment is usually provided through insulin injections.
Type II Diabetes – Often occurring in individuals 40 years and older, type II diabetes produces minimal, insufficient amounts of insulin, or what is produced is not properly used.

Most serious eye conditions caused by diabetes are a result of diabetic retinopathy, or a condition involving the vessels that supply blood to the eye’s retina. The lens of the eye can be affected by unusual changes in levels of blood sugar, especially in individuals not controlling their diabetic condition. Blurred vision is often a result of diabetes that can get worse or better throughout the day, depending on fluctuating levels of blood sugar in the body.

Not every individual that has a diabetic condition will develop complications with their eyes. The blurry eyesight condition of some individuals experiencing a mild to slight form of retinopathy never really gets any worse or becomes a sight-threatening issue.

Other diabetic men and women experience extensive diabetic retinopathy, background diabetic retinopathy, maculopathy, or proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Every one of these conditions is serious, and requires continuous monitoring and treatment to minimize or reverse the progress of the condition.

People suffering from Diabetes can reduce the risks of developing the different varieties of diabetic retinopathy through control, it can be stopped from getting worse. Reducing risk factors can be accomplished by:

Blood Pressure Control
Cholesterol Level Control
Glucose Level (Blood Sugar) Control
Maintaining a Fit, Healthy Weight
Routine Retinal Screenings

Uncontrollable risk factors can increase the effects and progression of diabetic retinopathy. Dependent on the length of time an individual has had diabetes, along with their age and ethnicity, slowing down the progress of retinopathy in their eyesight & diabetes condition may be the only option.