Why an eye exam may tell your doctor more than you’d think
More than 30 million U.S. adults have diabetes, and 84.1 million (1 in 3) – have prediabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Millions of those don’t even know they have it.
One of the most important pieces in fighting the damage caused by diabetes or reversing it is early management and detection. And one of the first places a medical professional can detect diabetes is in the eye.
A routine eye exam examines every part of the eye and has long been a source of early diagnoses. It is the only organ of the body that doesn’t require an invasive procedure to examine.
That makes it a great first diagnosing point for diseases including high blood pressure, arthritis, high cholesterol, hypertension, cancer, sickle cell anemia, heart disease and possibly even Alzheimer’s, says Dr. Osvaldo Lopez, chief of the ophthalmology section at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago, Ill.
“I have seen many patients who have never been diagnosed complaining of blurry vision,” he says. “Whenever they tell me they have been getting new prescriptions every few months, I know to start looking for diabetes.”
Chronically high blood sugar from diabetes can damage the tiny blood vessels in the retina, leading to a condition called diabetic retinopathy, according to the National Eye Institute. The retina detects light and converts it to signals sent through the optic nerve to the brain. Diabetic retinopathy can cause blood vessels in the retina to leak fluid or hemorrhage (bleed), distorting vision, and is the most common cause of vision loss among people with diabetes.
Dr. Lopez says the vision of thousands of Americans are lost every year due to unmanaged diabetes.
“Diabetes is a horrific disease – a real ticking time bomb,” he says. “As it advances, it becomes more difficult to treat. But diabetes doesn’t hurt like a herniated disk or cut, so people are often slow to get it checked. But it can cause a lot damage to multiple organs.”
Dr. Lopez advises seeing an eye doctor as soon as possible if you’re experiencing blurry or double vision, itching, red eye or sensitivity to light, among other irritants.
“Unfortunately, so many people don’t seek out eye exams,” he says. “It can tell them so much, but by the time we get them, it is often too late.”
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About the Author
Nathan Lurz, health enews contributor, is a public affairs coordinator at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital. He has nearly a decade of professional news experience as a reporter and editor, and a lifetime of experience as an enthusiastic learner. On the side, he enjoys writing even more, tabletop games, reading, running and explaining that his dog is actually the cutest dog, not yours, sorry.
This was very interesting. I will no longer put off eye exams, or wait until my vision changes to have one!
My Husband was experiencing several symptom of diabetes before he was diagnosed, but it was blurry vision that finally got him to the doctor. He is doing quite well on medication and diet now, so I can confirm blurry vision is nothing to ignore.