Diabetic patients can experience various changes in the eyes, such as changes in refractive error, cataracts, retinopathy, macular edema, and optic neuropathy. Diabetic retinopathy is a major concern that can be prevented, but if left untreated, it can lead to blindness.
Diabetic eye care includes a complete eye examination to look for changes in the eye due to diabetes. This includes visual acuity, refraction, a dilated fundus examination, and other investigations to detect diabetic retinopathy.
Diabetes can cause changes in the lens of the eye leading to frequent changes in glass power and increased risk of cataracts. Diabetes can lead to notable changes in the iris, resulting in non-dilating or inadequately dilating pupils among affected individuals.
The most important point is that even in advanced cases, the disease may progress a long way without symptoms; hence, regular dilated eye examinations for people with diabetes are very important.