Medical Conditions That Affect Eye Health

The health of your eyes is directly related to the soundness of your entire body as a whole. Poor health can lead to problems with normal eye function. Unfortunately, some medical conditions can affect the health of the eyes. Learning about these conditions will help you protect your vision. 

Protecting Your Eyes Is Paramount

While shielding your eyes from trauma and too much sun are important, your eye health is ultimately determined by your general health. What you put into your body, how much you exercise, and how often you visit the eye doctor are all instrumental to your eye health. 

Medical Conditions Can Affect the Health Of Your Eyes

Many health conditions can affect your eyes. Even health disorders unrelated to the eye may interfere with your vision. Understanding these diseases and how they can impact your eyesight is vital. 

Diabetes

Chronically high blood sugar levels are damaging to the blood vessels of the eye. Those with diabetes may develop diabetic retinopathy. This condition causes the blood vessels of the eye to leak into the retina. 

As the leaks worsen, damage begins to occur. Serious vision loss may transpire, and some people have gone blind from the damage caused by diabetes. A diabetic also has a greater risk of developing glaucoma and cataracts. 

If you are a diabetic, keeping your blood sugar levels under control is critical for the protection of your eyes. You should also have regular eye exams to check for the conditions above. 

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is also a danger to your eye health. With chronically high blood pressure comes damage to the blood vessels in and around your eyes. Injury to these vessels could lead to vision problems and eye diseases such as retinopathy.

Taking your blood pressure medications as recommended and working on lifestyle changes will help keep your blood pressure under control. See the eye doctor for regular eye exams to ensure no blood vessel damage has arisen.

Measles

Many people do not realize measles can affect the eyes. Although this condition is avoidable for most people, because of vaccines, there are still cases circulating around the world. 

Measles can get into the eyes and cause conjunctivitis. As a result, you could suffer from cornea damage, infections, and damage to the optic nerve. You could also lose your eyesight. Make sure you are vaccinated to avoid measles.

Liver Disease

You may not realize the importance of your liver health until problems begin to arise. If you are diagnosed with cirrhosis, your liver is not the only part of your body that will suffer. 

Liver diseases can lead to chronically dry eyes. If left untreated, corneal and lens damage may occur that could impact your vision. If you suffer from liver disease and dry eye, see your eye doctor right away for treatment. 

Sickle Cell Disease

Those suffering from sickle cell disease have an increased risk of developing blood vessel damage in their eyes. The resulting retinopathy can cause vision disturbances and even blindness. Routine eye checks will ensure no blood vessel damage is occurring.

Autoimmune Disorders

Most people know autoimmune disorders cause the body to attack itself because it views parts of the body as threats. Eye problems are one of the first signs of autoimmune diseases. 

People may develop redness, itchiness, and chronic dryness in their eyes. You could also experience vision loss, so it is important to see your eye doctor regularly for checkups. 

Protect Your Eyes at All Times

Many health conditions can impact the health of your eyes, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and liver disease. These medical conditions cause eye damage that can eventually lead to vision disturbances or blindness. 

To protect the health of your eyes, make sure to eat a healthy diet and get an abundance of exercise. If you have any of the above medical conditions, follow your doctor’s instructions to keep them under control. 

See your eye doctor for annual eye exams. Your eye doctor will help you protect your vision.