It is often said that the eyes are the windows of the soul, but according to doctors, they are the windows to the health of the body. Eye exams are the best way to maintain your eye health and keep track of eye conditions that may develop. However, they can do much more than this. Eye doctors and researchers have become aware that the eyes can show symptoms of some diseases before they manifest in the body.

Often, serious illnesses manifest symptoms in the eyes before they do in the rest of the body. Among the most common ones are hypertension and diabetes. These diseases, especially diabetes, cause changes in the body's chemistry that cause structures in the eye to change.

Eye Exams

Regular eye exams usually do not do much but check for how well you can see. They check for common eye conditions that may affect your vision. But a more thorough exam, called a comprehensive eye exam, looks more deeply at the eyes. In a comprehensive eye exam, the eye doctor will use different equipment and tests to check for various aspects of eye health.
 

Some of the eye tests they perform help them observe the structure of the eye. These include the surface of the eye and the interior parts as well. The internal parts of the eyes are the ones that will reveal more about your health. The most sensitive part of the eye is the retina at the very back.

The eye tests that usually reveal diabetes are:
 

• Optical coherence tomography

• Fluorescein angiography

• Dilated pupil test

Doctors may use these tests to help you keep track of your diabetes. With higher blood sugar, your eyes will show tiny blood vessels becoming damaged.

Effect of Diabetes on the Eyes

According to studies, there will be more people with diabetes in the next decade than there are today. Also, they estimate that most people with diabetes today do not know they have it. These are terrifying statistics. Fortunately, all they need is one comprehensive eye exam to find out.

Diabetes, as mentioned above, affects the chemistry of the body. The changes it causes will often show up in the eyes first. Not only are the symptoms easily visible in the eyes, but diabetes also increases your risk for certain eye conditions. Some of the common conditions that diabetes may cause are:

• Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a series of conditions that primarily affect the intraocular pressure in your eyes. It is a severe condition that usually does not present any symptoms until it is in the advanced stage. If untreated or realized too late, it usually causes blindness. The intraocular pressure causes irreversible damage to the optic nerve.

• Cataracts

Cataracts are common in people over 40 years old. But if you have diabetes, you may develop them much earlier. Cataracts are the clouding of the eyes lens, making vision difficult. You will notice that colors lose their vibrancy, and you need brighter light to see normally. 

• Diabetic Retinopathy

It is the most feared and most common condition that results when you have diabetes. The condition causes damage to the blood vessels in the retina. As the damage worsens, your vision will also worsen. The condition will develop in people who have diabetes types 1 and 2. The longer you live with diabetes, the higher the chances of developing this condition.

For more on how eye exams can help detect and manage diabetes, call Gulf Coast Vision at (228) 262-0266 to reach our office in Gulfport, Mississippi.