5 eye care tips for people with diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that, including your eyes, affects many parts of your body profoundly. It raises the risk of eye problems, such as cataracts and glaucoma.
Schedule appointments with your eye doctor at least once a year so they can spot any problem early and treat it. During your exam, your eye doctor will use special drops to widen (dilate) your pupils and check the blood vessels in your eyes for early signs of damage.
Keep your blood sugar under control-If you do that, you can slow any damage to the tiny blood vessels in your eyes. Several times a year, you should have an HbA1c blood test. It shows your blood sugar levels over the past 2 or 3 months. Your result should be around 7% or less.
Keep high blood pressure in check-It can lead to eye disease, too. If you have high blood pressure and diabetes, you need to be even more careful about your health. Ask your doctor to check your blood pressure at every visit. For most people with diabetes, it should be less than 140/90.
Check your cholesterol levels-All it takes is a blood test to find out how much “bad” LDL and “good” HDL cholesterol you have. Too much LDL is linked to blood vessel damage.
Move more- Exercise can have a big influence on blood sugar. If you use insulin or medication to lower your blood sugar, ask your doctor when you should check your levels before and during your workouts. Also ask what type of workout you should do.
