Safeguard Your Eyesight

Dr Raja Narayanan explains why you should care for your eyes.

- Dr Raja Narayanan

Introduction

Infections can affect the body in many forms and when Diabetes comes into the picture, the risk of infections increases. Diabetes impairs the body's immunity and makes it easily susceptible to infections. Infections are more frequent in people with Diabetes which potentially increases their morbidity.

A greater frequency of infections in people with Diabetes is caused by the hyperglycaemic environment (high blood sugar levels) that leads to lowered immunity, lowered neutrophils and a decrease in the antibacterial activity in the blood and other organs. High blood glucose acts as a good growth medium for bacteria where they can flourish. Another mechanism by which Diabetes can cause infections especially in the feet and hands is by reducing blood supply in the nerves. This reduces the ability of the body to mount an immune response.

Infections of the eye

People with Diabetes are more likely to get bacterial infections, including bacterial conjunctivitis and eyelid swelling called stye. This looks like a boil or a pimple over the lid margin.

Conjuctivits

Conjunctivitis, or pink eye, is inflammation of the outer white portion of the eye. It can occur to one or both eyes. Typically, it occurs in one eye and spreads to the other eye in two to five days. The bacterial aetiology often depends on geography and age but the most common include staphylococcus and streptococcus.