Diabetic eye disease can effect several parts of your eye including the cornea, the lens and the retina.  Diabetes can lead to a softness of the skin of the cornea.  The cornea is the clear tissue that is found on the front of the eye.  Diabetics are more prone to the problem of Recurrent Erosion Syndrome which can cause one to awake early in the morning with pain in the eye.

When blood sugars go up in diabetics, the lens of the eye swells.  This is the reason that glasses that were perfect one day may not be so good a few days later.  It can take several weeks to bring the lens size back to normal when blood sugars normalize.  This repeated cycle of swelling and deturgescence can cause cataracts.  Those with diabetic eye disease can expect to need cataract extraction at a younger age than many of their peers.

Most important to diabetics are the changes that occur to the retina called diabetic retinopathy.  Diabetes causes areas of the retina to lack oxygen.  This then leads to the growth of new blood vessels in an attempt to supply more oxygen to these areas.  Instead of the blood vessels being a good quality blood vessels, these new blood vessels leak blood as well as protein and fat leading to swelling of the surrounding retina as well as hemorrhages inside of the eye. 

We have a wide variety of treatment options available for treatment, but the key is to catch the problems early and before catastrophic changes occur.  This is why all diabetics need an eye exam at least yearly if not more often.