Utah Diabetics and Eye Disease
In Utah, if diagnosed with diabetes, patients will be sent to an eye doctor on a more-than-normal basis. The Utah Dept. of Health claims that roughly 8 percent of Utah residents have been diagnosed by their doctors with diabetes. And according to the Center for Disease Control, diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among adults age 25 to 74. Utah eye doctors estimate that anywhere between 85 to 170 residents become blind each year due to complications with diabetes.
There are three different types of complications that Utah eye doctors will diagnose patients with. They are retinopathy, cataracts and glaucoma. But how does a disease that affects insulin and blood sugar levels affect the eyes? Let's break down each disease to find out.
Retinopathy
This is almost exclusively a disease caused by diabetes out of the three. Patients who come to Utah eye doctors complaining of blurred vision and seeing spots in their field of vision and difficulty seeing well at night will usually get further tested for this vision condition.
Diabetics are told by eye doctors in Utah that the best way to prevent retinopathy is to keep a close watch on blood sugar levels as prolonged periods of high blood sugar can damage the blood vessels that keep the retina going by causing them to swell. When damage happens to the blood cells it can create bleeding in the eye and cause spotty vision.
Glaucoma
According to the American Optometric Association, glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that lead to progressive damage of the optic nerve. Glaucoma is essentially when the bundle of optic nerves behind the eye lose nerve tissue which consequently results in a loss of vision. The optic nerves are the sensors on the retina that translate images to the brain. It is the second leading cause of blindness in America and affects mostly in people over the age of 40.
Cataracts
Cataracts have become so common in the last decade that the procedure to fix them is almost commonplace for Utah's eye doctors. Generally speaking, cataracts form in people over the age of 55. Cataracts occur when the proteins and fibers in the lens change and create a clouded substance which was once clear. The lens of an eye is made up of water and proteins and is layered similar to an onion. There are multiple layers to the eye's lens and a cataract can happen on each one of those lenses. At the center of the lens, a nuclear cataract can sometimes darken going from yellow to brown. A cortical cataract is identified by a wedge or spoke appearance and happens on the layer of the lens that surrounds the nucleus. A posterior capsular cataract occurs in the lens' back outer layer and often develops at the most rapid pace of the three.
There are three different types of complications that Utah eye doctors will diagnose patients with. They are retinopathy, cataracts and glaucoma. But how does a disease that affects insulin and blood sugar levels affect the eyes? Let's break down each disease to find out.
Retinopathy
This is almost exclusively a disease caused by diabetes out of the three. Patients who come to Utah eye doctors complaining of blurred vision and seeing spots in their field of vision and difficulty seeing well at night will usually get further tested for this vision condition.
Diabetics are told by eye doctors in Utah that the best way to prevent retinopathy is to keep a close watch on blood sugar levels as prolonged periods of high blood sugar can damage the blood vessels that keep the retina going by causing them to swell. When damage happens to the blood cells it can create bleeding in the eye and cause spotty vision.
Glaucoma
According to the American Optometric Association, glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that lead to progressive damage of the optic nerve. Glaucoma is essentially when the bundle of optic nerves behind the eye lose nerve tissue which consequently results in a loss of vision. The optic nerves are the sensors on the retina that translate images to the brain. It is the second leading cause of blindness in America and affects mostly in people over the age of 40.
Cataracts
Cataracts have become so common in the last decade that the procedure to fix them is almost commonplace for Utah's eye doctors. Generally speaking, cataracts form in people over the age of 55. Cataracts occur when the proteins and fibers in the lens change and create a clouded substance which was once clear. The lens of an eye is made up of water and proteins and is layered similar to an onion. There are multiple layers to the eye's lens and a cataract can happen on each one of those lenses. At the center of the lens, a nuclear cataract can sometimes darken going from yellow to brown. A cortical cataract is identified by a wedge or spoke appearance and happens on the layer of the lens that surrounds the nucleus. A posterior capsular cataract occurs in the lens' back outer layer and often develops at the most rapid pace of the three.
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