One thing that a lot of patients who are diagnosed with diabetes are unaware of is just how much it can impact the rest of your health; including causing vision problems like diabetic retinopathy. One of the tricky things about diabetic retinopathy is that there may not be any clear symptoms of it at first, but it can eventually cause blindness. To help us catch diabetic retinopathy early on, we encourage patients to come into our office for regular examinations. To Let’s take a closer look at a few things that may put you at a greater risk of developing diabetic retinopathy.
Diabetes
Whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, you can develop diabetic retinopathy at any time. The longer that you’ve had diabetes for, the more likely you are to get diabetic retinopathy which is why we encourage everyone with diabetes to get regular eye examinations from our office. By catching diabetic retinopathy early on, we can help prevent it from getting worse.
Tobacco Use
If you chew tobacco or smoke tobacco, you are also at an increased risk of developing conditions like diabetic retinopathy. Even though we would prefer it if you were to quit tobacco usage entirely, if you don’t quit, we will want to monitor your vision on a more regular basis.
Pregnancy
If you are pregnant and diabetic, your chances of developing diabetic retinopathy are that much higher. To help prevent you from developing diabetic retinopathy throughout your pregnancy, we may recommend that you come into our office on a regular basis to get vision screenings.
High Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure
If you have high cholesterol or high blood pressure, you should be monitored by your general health practitioner on a regular basis. But because both of these things put you at a greater risk for developing diabetic retinopathy, we will also want to monitor you closely if you have them.
Are you interested in learning some more information about diabetic retinopathy? Contact our Pontiac or Clarkston offices today and call us at (248) 334-4931.
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