A diabetes diagnosis affects every part of your health, including eye health. Vision loss from complications of diabetes can be due to a number of factors, including diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, cataracts, or the inability of the body to heal from an eye infection. Fortunately, it is often possible to prevent or at least slow the onset of these conditions. The following tips can help you maintain your vision health after you have been diagnosed with diabetes.

Schedule regular full exams

You should have your eyes checked at least once a year, and this should be a full exam that includes eye dilation and comprehensive glaucoma testing. You can talk to a place, like Northwest Ophthalmology for more information. Catching a vision problem early is the key to successful treatment, especially if you are diabetic. If you have already been diagnosed with a diabetes-related vision problem, like retinopathy, your optometrist may require that you come in more often so that the condition and the treatments can be tracked more closely.

Manage the rest of your health

It isn't uncommon for those with a new diabetes diagnosis to focus on it while allowing other aspects of their health to temporarily fall by the wayside. Although understandable, this can lead to more problems down the line. For example, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, when combined with diabetes, put more pressure on the lenses and blood vessels in the eyes, which can increase your chances for vision loss. Focus on all aspects of your health to avoid these sometimes irreversible side effects.

Watch your blood sugar

It's no secret that a diabetic must carefully manage their blood sugar, but the risks to vision health aren't always known. Each time your sugar spikes the lens in your eye becomes distorted. With repetition, this distortion can become permanent, which means you will have permanently blurry vision. Managing your blood sugar closely so that it rarely if ever soars too high can help prevent a majority of vision issues that are a direct result of diabetes.

Follow all treatment requirements

If vision loss is already occurring, prompt treatment is the only option for reversing it. In the case of cataracts, a removal surgery and placement of replacement lenses can fix the problem, especially if you follow the above tips to improve your overall vision health. Many diabetic vision issues can be treated with surgery, medication, or with changes in health habits. Your eye doctor will provide you with a treatment plan and it is vital that you follow it exactly.

For more help, talk to a diabetic vision specialist.