The world’s diabetes is called the capital, India is also facing heavy burden of eye diseases as a result of lifestyle disease.

A Lancet reports revealed that in 2022 India became a country with most diabetic patients in the world, with 212 million victims, but only one shocking 62% remaining untreated.

This increase in diabetes is also motivating more people to lose their vision. While diabetes as a health status does not cause direct blindness, it makes some individuals more unsafe for this result.

How does diabetes lead to poor vision or blindness?

Eating food provides the energy of our body. This energy is stored in the form of sugar (glucose) which is transported to different organs of the body through the bloodstream.

“In diabetic patients, there is some problem in using or regulating the body levels in the blood. Diabetic patients require delicate and vigilant maintenance to human blood vessels. In the long run, high level sugar can be tremendous disastrous,” Dr. Eimberti Shriram, Consultant Vitratina, Sankara Eye Hospital told.

The retina (eye nerve tissue) has minuscules and delicate blood vessels that help you see.

When sugar levels are high, these blood vessels may be damaged. This, in turn, prevents the retina from obtaining oxygen and other nutrients.

This is the place where diabetic retinopathy comes. “Diabetic retinopathy is a condition that causes the back of the eye, the back of the retina, inflats the fluid and the blood and if left untreated, the retinopathy may be severe, which can cause blurry and eventually lead to blindness,” Dr. Saram said.

Another 2022 lenset report written by Indian scientists from various institutions showed that out of more than 8,000 diabetic patients, about 12.5% ​​of diabetes people showed symptoms of diabetes eye diseases (diabetes retinopathy), and 4% had more serious forms that could affect their vision (VTDR).

In the study, people who already knew that they had diabetes were more likely to have eye problems (about 15.5%) than those who did not know that they had diabetes (8%).

The issues related to serious vision were also more common among those already diagnosed.

While researchers concluded that high blood sugar was found to be the biggest risk factor, they further mentioned that it was something that could be controlled with the right treatment.

Who is more at risk?

While diabetes does not cause direct blindness, it makes some individuals more weak for this result.

• People who have diabetes for a long time – the longer the sugar level in your body, the more damage can be done.
• People who do not manage their diabetes well – not taking medicines properly, eating too much sugar, or not exercising can make things worse.
• For individuals with high blood pressure or high cholesterol – these conditions make the blood more difficult to transmit blood.
• Women of diabetes during pregnancy – women experience many changes that put them at greater risk.

How will you know that diabetes is affecting your eyes? Look out for these symptoms:

• blurry vision
• Seeing black spots or floatrs
• Difficulty watching at night
• Loss of sudden vision

If you have any of these, an eye doctor (retinal specialist) should be visited immediately.

How to manage eye vision when diabetes?

Being diabetes does not mean that a person will be blind, Dr. Shriram said.

He said, “Proper health care and regular eye exams allow to avoid serious consequences. Prevention to fix deteriorating cases is always better.”

There are many ways that can protect your eyes:

Fast walking and healthy eating will help control diabetes, so blood sugar will be controlled.

Eye examination will also help in maintaining good vision every year. In some cases, a person may feel fine but can reveal a check-up underlying issues.

Smoking can increase the loss of eye injury due to diabetes, thus lifestyle modification increases eye lights.

Despite the fact that diabetes can cause blindness, Dr. Shriram said that proper monitoring of eye vision can help individuals get timely treatment.