For many years of my life, I was entrusted with the care of my mother whom, while also getting older, was suffering from diabetes as well. This disease started out like most others, with the need of insulin shots and watching the diet, but progressed to the point where her vision was severely compromised.

This made things difficult for her without the aid of somebody. Measuring and taking insulin was impossible, simple task such as cooking that she enjoyed so much became difficult, and making sure that she was taking the right medications at the right time for other, unrelated ailments, became a chore.

While I gladly helped my mother through these tough times, it made me start to wonder every once in awhile: What is it about diabetes that brings on side effects such as the loss of vision? And is there anything someone could do to prevent it?

For these answers, I took to everyone’s favorite source of information: The internet!

It turns out there are actually various forms of what is called “diabetic eye disease.” This disease is grouped in two ways: diabetic retinopathy, and the more advanced stage of the previous known as diabetic macular edema (or DME). Diabetic eye disease can also lead to other eye issues, such as glaucoma and cataracts.

High blood sugar, in general, can affect the blood and nerves in your body, which is exactly the reason behind the onset of diabetic eye disease. Diabetic retinopathy occurs when damage is caused to the blood vessels in the retina of your eye, the part that helps to detect light to help you see what’s in front of you. With this condition, the damage can lead to swelling and hemorrhaging in the retina. As a consequence, vision can be distorted, making it harder to see.

In advanced cases of diabetic retinopathy, DME occurs where the macula portion of the retina, the area that is responsible for the recognition of shapes and people, becomes damaged. DME plagues about half the people who get diabetic retinopathy and is the main culprit of vision loss with diabetes.

Prevention of diabetic eye disease is about the same as other issues with diabetes, with exercise, diet, and monitoring of your diabetes being a good way to prevent vision problems.

While all this information may not be new to your, it’s always important to know what is going on with your body, which can hopefully help you eliminate any fear that you may be having with your disease.

Special thanks to Matthew Soulia for writing this article.