I Have Diabetes. What Should I Know About Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a condition that can cause permanent damage to your eyesight and even blindness. This serious condition can be difficult to catch in its early stages, and that makes ti very hard to protect your eyesight. If you have diabetes, you must take extra steps to protect yourself from glaucoma. As your eye doctor in St. Marys, Jesup, and Brunswick, GA, we can help. Below are some of the commonly asked questions that our diabetic patients have about glaucoma.

What is glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a condition that causes damage to the optic nerve, leading to vision damage or even blindness. Glaucoma is usually caused by extra pressure in the eye.

Am I at risk for glaucoma if I have diabetes?

Anyone can contract glaucoma, but people who have diabetes are at much higher risk of contracting glaucoma. Once you have glaucoma, it cannot be cured. However, your eye doctor can treat it to help slow down any potential damage to your vision.

What are the signs of glaucoma?

The signs of glaucoma depend on the type of glaucoma that you have. Signs of glaucoma include:

• Severe headache
• Severe eye pain
• Blurry vision
• Blind spots in your peripheral vision or in central vision
• Halos around lights
• Eye redness
• Loss of side vision first, then central vision

How can I tell if I have glaucoma?

While you may notice some of the signs of glaucoma from the early stages, some glaucoma has no symptoms until the condition is advanced. If this happens to you, the only way to determine whether you have glaucoma is to see the eye doctor. Your eye doctor can give you a special type of eye exam to look inside your eye. Standard vision exams do not detect glaucoma.

When should I see the eye doctor?

See the eye doctor when you’re first diagnosed with diabetes. Your eye doctor will tell you when you should come for future examinations. How often you should see the eye doctor will depend on your current eye health and other risk factors.

Do you have more questions about glaucoma treatment in St. Marys, Jesup, and Brunswick, GA? Call Vision Source Family Eye Care to make an appointment today.