When you have diabetes, it seems as though you are stuck managing just about every aspect of your condition. From watching your fluid intake to keep your kidneys healthy to eating nutritiously for better heart health to monitoring care of your extremities to guard against neuropathic issues, it seems as though there is so much to keep in mind when you are diabetic.
This is true and your eyes are just another thing to add to the list. Diabetic eye care is poignant because the condition attacks the eyes as well as other areas of the body. Your family practice in Phoenix, AZ might monitor this closely, but it is equally important to do your part to ensure that your eyes stay as healthy as possible. With that in mind, consider some steps towards managing your eye care when you have diabetes.
Step 1: Keep blood sugar levels in as normal a range as possible: This is key because when your blood pressure spins out of control, a host of other complications may develop as a result of your disease. In fact, according to the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, people that developed retinopathy had it advance only half as often as those that kept their blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible. This is key to avoid developing eye-related complications of the disease. Remember, the disease might be taking over your body in some ways, but you have a lot of control over managing it, particularly when it comes to your eyes. Also keep in mind that if your blood sugar skyrockets, you may experience some blurriness, that should be fairly temporary.
Step 2: Reign in hypertension: Hypertension, or high blood pressure, can be a byproduct of diabetes and can cause a myriad of other health-related issues. For instance, heart disease and stroke are risks of hypertension and diabetes can be made worse by it. Moreover, eye problems related to diabetes can be made worse by hypertensive episodes. Find natural ways to bring blood pressure numbers to within normal ranges, and if that doesn’t work, then explore medicinal routes that can help to resolve hypertension, so you aren’t struggling with that condition as well as diabetes.
Step 3: Quit smoking: There are plenty of reasons to quit smoking and saving your eyes is among them. Smoking weakens your body overall, allowing the diabetes to further advance and any associated eye conditions to do the same.
Step 4: Get an eye exam at least once a year and get a dilated eye exam as part of your diabetic eye care reigmen. It isn’t enough to get the traditional exam and it isn’t enough to have a retail eye professional test your prescription for glasses. Only an ophthalmologist or optometrist, perhaps if one is associated with your family practice in Phoenix, AZ is trained to test for retinopathy or other signs of eye disease related to diabetes. Moreover, these are the only professionals that can actually treat such disease. This means that they can help to slow down the progression of it and give you tips on how to manage your diabetic eye care with an eye towards any further treatment needs or tips on any other conditions that might develop as a result.
Step 5: Call your eye doctor if any of the following issues develop: blurry vision, trouble reading books and/or words you could normally read with ease, double vision, pain in one or both of your eyes, spots or floaters that don’t go away with a few seconds, eyes that turn red and won’t clear up with the use of an over-the-counter product, pressure in your eyes that continues to worsen over time or lines that look wavy when they should be straight. Diabetic eye care is all about prevention and catching issues early enough to treat them before they get out of control.
Moreover, if have had diabetes for at least five years and are between the ages of 10 and 29, then you need to have the dilated exam every time you visit the doctor and over the age of 30, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve had the disease. Diabetic eye care should be a regular part of your treatment plan. Moreover, if you have changes in your vision or are planning to get pregnant, keep a close eye on your vision through your family practice in Phoenix, AZ.