Eye is only organ in our body, where we can see blood vessels directly. It is understood that Retina shows mirror image of the status of your whole body.
Many systemic diseases can present with eye changes or eye problem, like-
- Diabetes Mellitus
- Hypertension
- Abnormal lipid profile &/or heart diseases
- Immunological Diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sarcoidosis, Ankylosing spondylitis etc
- Thyroid diseases
- Tuberculosis
- Malignancy/Tumors/Cancer
- Herpes, STD, HIV etc. infection
- Many more….
DM & EYE
- Diabetes interferes with the body’s ability to use and store sugar (glucose). The disease is characterized by too much sugar in the blood, which can cause damage throughout the body, including the eyes
- Diabetic retinopathy occurs when DM causes damage of small blood vessel wall, supplying to Retina. These tiny blood vessels leak blood and fluids causing serious threat to vision
- Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy- Seeing spots or floaters, Blurred vision or sudden loss of vision, having a dark or empty spot in the center of your vision, Difficulty seeing well at night. In early stages, there will not be any symptoms.
- The longer a person has diabetes, the more likely he or she is to develop diabetic retinopathy, particularly if the diabetes is poorly controlled
- People with other medical conditions, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, are at greater risk
- Pregnant women face a higher risk for developing diabetes and diabetic retinopathy. If a woman develops gestational diabetes, she has a higher risk of developing diabetes as she ages
