Diabetes is a disease that keeps your body from producing or using insulin to break down sugar in the bloodstream. It can affect the eyes and vision in several ways. Sometimes diabetes can make your sight blurry, reduce your peripheral vision, or cause flashes or floaters within the eyes. It can also result in changes in nearsightedness and farsightedness, presbyopia (pres-be-oh-pee-uh), cataracts, glaucoma, and decreased corneal sensitivity. If diabetes isn’t controlled, it can lead to retinopathy (reh-tin-aw-puh-thee), which can cause blindness. Another eye condition is macular (mack-you-lar) degeneration.

The macula is the central area of the retina that controls fine, detailed vision. As you grow older, the macula can become thinner, causing deposits to form and possible vision loss. Retinal tears (tairz) or detachments are another problem with the eyes. This is where the retina becomes torn and can lead to the retina becoming detached. Retinal detachment must be treated with surgery, and if left untreated, can lead to permanent impairment or loss of vision. For more information on conditions affecting the eyes, talk to an optometrist or ophthalmologist in your area.