Warning Signs For Diabetics That Your Vision Is Worsening

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Most people who have been diagnosed with diabetes know that the disease, especially when not controlled well, can put your vision at risk. This threat is applicable to everyone with diabetes, so it's important to be able to recognize the early warning signs that you're developing an issue. If any of these symptoms happen to you, make sure to visit your eye doctor as soon as possible. Getting treatment immediately can help you to avoid experiencing permanent vision loss or damage.

Blurring Vision

One of the most common signs that there's a vision problem developing is blurring vision. Vision can blur for many benign reasons, like skin oil making it onto the surface of the eye, or too much pressure on your eyes while sleeping from your pillow. However, if the vision blurriness lasts for more than a few hours, it's worth contacting your eye doctor.

Blurriness tends to occur when the eye isn't receiving an adequate supply of blood. This is because with diabetes, the blood vessels often become sensitive and brittle. When a blood vessel bursts, the stream of blood is interrupted and your eyes can begin to be starved of their blood supply.

Dark Spots

Dark spots on the eye are also due to a problem with your blood vessels. Instead of causing a lack of blood flow, blood leaks out of the vessels and pools in front of your retina. This impacts how light is absorbed into your eye and turned into an image in your brain. It's a lot like trying to look through a pair of binoculars with something stuck to the lens.

Pooling blood can cause retinal damage, and a lack of blood supply could still be occurring elsewhere in the eye. Seek medical attention immediately if this happens to you.

Pressure Headache

Lastly, one of the most innocuous-seeming symptoms of your eye condition worsening is a persistent pressure headache. While pressure headaches can happen due to a variety of reasons, people with vision damage developing from diabetes can get them due to an increase in eye pressure. With this increase in pressure, local nerves and muscles are often irritated or pinched, which can cause an unpleasant headache. If time, over the counter medication, and warm or cold compresses don't help, it's a good idea to get your eyes checked.

Losing your vision doesn't have to be a part of having diabetes. With adequate medical attention and careful attention to any potential symptoms, you can protect your vision and continue seeing clearly years into the future. Contact a clinic, like Northwest Ophthalmology, for more help.


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