Has your vision changed recently? When you have diabetes, it can be challenging to know whether to expect your glasses to provide the same level of visual clarity as before.
Diabetes can alter the way your eyes function, from the focusing power of your natural lens to the blood vessels that nourish the retina.
While some of these changes in vision are temporary and reversible, others can signal an underlying eye disease.
By learning how diabetes can impact your vision, you can make better choices about your glasses prescription and take the steps necessary to protect your vision and eye health.
How Does Diabetes Affect Eyesight?
Diabetes impacts the body’s ability to regulate blood glucose or blood sugar levels.
When blood sugar is high or fluctuates, it can cause vision changes.
These vision changes can be temporary or permanent, depending on how well blood sugar levels are managed.
Elevated blood sugar levels can impact the focusing power of your natural lens within the eye, temporarily altering your vision.
Over time, high blood sugar can lead to damage of the small blood vessels that nourish the retina.
This can cause vision loss conditions such as diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema.
A thorough eye exam can detect diabetes-related eye conditions, sometimes before any vision changes occur.
Why Does Blood Sugar Dictate Eyeglass Prescription?
Your natural lens is essential for focusing the images that you see.
When you have high blood sugar, or when your blood sugar fluctuates, the structure inside of the natural lens can shift.
This can permanently or temporarily alter your eyesight, making the prescription on your current glasses inaccurate.
While your lenses are not physically changing size, the way that they bend or refract the light entering the eye changes, altering your vision.
Because of this, an eye exam performed when you have high or unstable blood sugar may not reflect the true prescription of your glasses.
If your vision is changing unpredictably, an optometrist can help determine whether this is due to a changing prescription or an underlying eye condition.
Should You Wait Before Buying New Glasses?
It may be beneficial to wait to purchase new prescription glasses if your blood sugar has been high or unstable.
Without stable blood sugar, a new eyeglass prescription may be inaccurately determined, resulting in glasses that do not provide comfortable, clear vision.
On the other hand, an optometrist or optician should not wait to conduct an eye exam due to concerns about blood sugar being too high or too low.
The distinction is significant: A person with diabetes should receive a new glasses prescription only after their blood sugar is stable.
A fluctuating or unsteady blood sugar level should not prevent an eye exam for a new pair of glasses.
In addition to determining whether a person with diabetes needs a new prescription, an optometrist can also look for warning signs of an eye disease related to diabetes.
When it comes to your vision, there’s no such thing as being too prepared.
What Are the Common Vision Problems Associated with Diabetes?
Diabetes can alter the eyes in several different ways.
Some of the changes that happen in the eyes related to diabetes are only temporary, while others can result in permanent damage.
Blurry Vision Induced by Lens Swelling
When the blood sugar level changes dramatically, it can cause the natural lens inside of the eye to shift.
This can cause the eyesight to become blurred or out of focus.
Usually, this change in eyesight is temporary and will return to normal as the blood sugar level stabilizes.
However, the change in the lens can occur gradually, so it may not be possible to predict exactly when a new glasses prescription will be necessary.
Diabetic Retinopathy
The most common eye disease associated with diabetes is diabetic retinopathy.
It occurs when the small blood vessels in the retina begin to weaken.
In its earliest stages, diabetic retinopathy may not cause any symptoms at all.
However, as these blood vessels begin to leak fluid or stop working altogether, vision problems may arise.
If diabetic retinopathy is not treated, it can lead to permanent vision loss.
The good news is that diabetic retinopathy can usually be treated effectively if it is discovered early.
Diabetic Macular Edema
Another condition associated with diabetes is diabetic macular edema.
This happens when fluid builds up in the macula region of the retina.
The macula is responsible for central vision, so diabetic macular edema can make it difficult to see objects clearly, especially fine print or facial features.
Cataracts
A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens within the eye.
People with diabetes are more likely to develop cataracts, and these cataracts tend to develop at an earlier age than in people without diabetes.
In addition to making it harder to see, cataracts often cause the world to appear faded or discolored, and can make night vision particularly challenging.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that are typically associated with high blood pressure within the eye.
This can damage the optic nerve and lead to permanent vision loss.
People with diabetes are more likely to develop glaucoma than those without diabetes.
Are the Vision Changes from Diabetes Permanent or Temporary?
The answer depends on the specific vision changes that you are experiencing.
Generally, the changes that happen as a result of your blood sugar fluctuating are only temporary.
However, other causes of vision changes, such as diabetic retinopathy, can result in permanent damage if they are not properly treated.
This is why receiving a regular eye check up is an important part of diabetes care.
What Are the Early Warning Signs that Diabetes is Affecting My Eyesight?
Unfortunately, vision changes due to diabetes do not always announce themselves in an obvious way.
Common symptoms of vision changes due to diabetes include:
- Blurry or fluctuating vision
- Sudden changes in prescription clarity
- Dark spots or new floaters
- Distorted or wavy lines
- Difficulty seeing at night
- Reduced peripheral vision
- Uneven vision between eyes
- Sudden or unexplained vision loss
If one of your eyes seems to be more out of focus than the other, it can be tempting to attribute this to needing lenses with different strength in each eye.
While it is true that some people do need different lens strength in each eye, a sudden change in vision in one eye should be brought to the attention of an eye care professional.
What Does a Diabetic Eye Exam Typically Involve?
A complete diabetic eye exam goes beyond a basic eye exam for glasses.
While the optometrist may perform a standard eye vision test and determine the best glasses prescription for you, he or she will most likely perform a thorough eye examination to screen for diabetes-related eye diseases.
A diabetic eye exam usually involves a dilated retina exam to look for changes in the blood vessels of the retina that can be associated with diabetes.
Additional tests, such as an optical coherence tomograph, may also be performed.
A comprehensive eye examination can also help detect other vision-threatening conditions unrelated to diabetes.
While an eye exam can detect health problems or signs that suggest diabetes, a diagnosis of diabetes requires appropriate medical testing, such as blood glucose or A1C testing.
How Often Should I Get an Eye Exam if I Have Diabetes?
Eye exams for people with diabetes are typically recommended more frequently than they are for people without diabetes.
The frequency of eye exams, however, depends on what type of diabetes you have, what other medical conditions you have, and whether you already have diabetic-related eye diseases.
People with type 2 diabetes are usually recommended to get a dilated eye exam when they are first diagnosed.
People with type 1 diabetes typically get their first dilated eye exam five years after their diagnosis.
After that, people with diabetes are usually advised to get their eyes examined at least once a year, though some people may be advised to get their eyes examined less frequently if they continue to have normal eye exams and have few risk factors.
People with existing diabetic eye diseases may also need to get regular eye check ups.
Your diabetes care team and eye doctor will likely be able to determine how often you need an eye exam based on your personal health history.
How Can You Protect Your Eyesight If You Have Diabetes?
Taking care of your eyes usually involves a combination of maintaining good blood sugar control and receiving routine eye care.
Practical steps include:
- Manage blood sugar: Work with your healthcare team to maintain individualized glucose targets.
- Monitor blood pressure and cholesterol: Both can influence the risk of diabetic eye complications.
- Attend recommended eye examinations: Retinal changes may develop without early symptoms.
- Avoid smoking: Smoking can increase the risk of vascular complications.
- Maintain healthy habits: Balanced nutrition, regular physical activity, and appropriate medical care support overall health.
- Report vision changes: Don’t assume every change means your glasses prescription needs updating.
If you have any concerns about your vision, an optometrist can examine your eyes to determine whether a new glasses prescription is warranted.
In addition, your optometrist should be able to determine if there are other eye problems that may need to be addressed.
When Should You See an Eye Doctor Urgently?
Most optometrists and ophthalmologists will be available to see you on short notice if you experience any urgent vision problems.
Seek urgent eye care if you experience:
- Sudden vision loss or a rapid decrease in vision
- A sudden increase in floaters
- Flashes of light or a dark curtain across your vision
- New, significant visual distortion
- Severe eye pain or redness accompanied by vision changes
These problems can be caused by several different conditions, including some that require emergency care.
Even if the changes in your vision seem relatively mild, it is usually best to err on the side of caution when it comes to your eyes.
FAQ – Does Diabetes Affect Your Vision & Eyesight?
1. Can diabetes cause blurry vision even with glasses?
Yes. Significant changes in blood sugar can impact the focusing power of the eyes.
In addition, some eye diseases associated with diabetes can cause blurry vision that cannot be corrected with glasses.
2. Will my eyesight improve when my blood sugar is under control?
Vision changes due to blood sugar levels will usually return to normal when blood sugar levels are stabilized.
However, vision loss due to eye disease may only improve with specific treatment.
3. Can diabetes affect one eye more than the other?
Yes. It is possible for one eye to be more affected by diabetes than the other.
While it is common for people to have slightly better vision in one eye than the other, a significant difference in vision may be a sign of an eye disease.
4. Can diabetes cause permanent vision loss?
Yes. Permanent vision loss can be caused by several diabetes-associated eye conditions, including diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, cataracts, and glaucoma.
5. Does diabetic retinopathy have early symptoms?
Generally speaking, no.
Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy typically develop gradually, and many people do not realize that they have it until it has progressed significantly.
6. Can an eye exam detect diabetes?
An eye exam can detect some of the vision changes that occur with diabetes.
In addition, certain eye diseases that are associated with diabetes can sometimes only be detected with a thorough eye examination.
However, diabetes must be diagnosed with a blood sugar test.
7. Is a diabetic eye exam different from a regular eye exam?
Yes.
An eye exam for a person with diabetes is more likely to include a thorough screening for various eye diseases.
A regular eye exam typically focuses more on visual acuity and determining whether glasses are needed.
Conclusion- Can Diabetes Impact Your Eyeglass Prescription?
Diabetes can affect vision in several ways, ranging from temporary vision changes to permanent vision loss.
While temporary blood sugar fluctuations may cause blurry vision that improves with better glucose stability, long-term complications such as diabetic retinopathy, macular edema, cataracts, and glaucoma require careful monitoring.
Understanding how diabetes affects vision helps you recognize why changing glasses isn’t always the right first step.
At Eyeglass Factory, we understand that your prescription for glasses is an important part of maintaining your quality of life.
If your eyesight has changed unexpectedly, it is important to receive an eye exam before purchasing a new pair of glasses.
Regular eye care, effective diabetes management, and timely treatment can make a meaningful difference in protecting your vision for years to come.
