Diabetes Complication: How to Avoid Glaucoma

Eye disorder is one of the diabetes complications. You sure do not want to have a blurry vision or be blind in addition to your diabetes. So make sure to avoid glaucoma especially if you are already diabetic.

Glaucoma, a kind of eye disease is one of the diabetes complications. If you are already diabetic, make sure you know how to avoid glaucoma.
High blood sugar can cause eye disorder like glaucoma. Glaucoma is caused by the damage of the eye’s electric wire (optic nerve) because it is pressed by extra fluid. The situation causes damage to the eyesight.

To avoid or remedy glaucoma, see that your blood sugar level is within 90 to 130 mg/dL before meals and less than 180 mg/dL one hour or two hours after meal.

You may use eye drops that are prescribed by your doctor as there are a lot of types of eye drops. There are eye drops that reduce the fluid production in the eyes, others give the eyes moisturizer. Eye drops may help avoid diabetes complications on the eyes and can be useful to avoid glaucoma. Generally though, eye drops help lower the pressure at the back of the eyes which glaucoma brings in.

Do not expose yourself to sports that can lead to eye injury. Some eye injuries might lead to glaucoma immediately or some time later. Boxing and baseball are the most common in causing eye injuries and glaucoma.

Have regular eye check-ups to monitor your eyes’ health. If you have diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, you are more susceptible to glaucoma. Frequent eye exams help early detection of glaucoma and early medication matters to avoid general damage to the eyes. If you are aged 18 to 60, avoid diabetes complication in your eyes earlier by having a complete eye exam every other year. Regular eye checkup is a useful way to avoid glaucoma. For those older than 60, complete eye exam should be done every year. For African Americans, they should start yearly complete eye exam upon reaching 30 years old.

Maintain a healthy weight. Overweight can lead to insulin resistance and the latter increases eye pressure.

Maintain a healthy range of blood pressure. Blood pressure, when high can also increase eye pressure, thus increasing the risk of glaucoma.

Give your eyes protection when you need to, like power tools when you do welding. Wear protection to prevent your eyes from being hit especially if you are diabetic. It can give diabetes complication to your eyes faster because eye damage can lead to glaucoma. To avoid glaucoma, wear protection tools.

Do not take caffeine and alcohol. According to the study by Avisar and his colleagues in “Annals of Pharmacotherapeutics”, caffeinated coffee can elevate eye pressure. Alcohol has not been proven to cause eye damage yet but healthcare professionals may suggest abstaining from alcoholic beverages as well.

Have doses of vitamins A, B complex, C and E. They can help protect your eyes. Seeds, whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts are sources of these. Carrots and dark green leaves of vegetables are very helpful. Drinking green tea may help too.

Do not gulp a lot of liquids at once. Consume liquids gradually throughout the day.