Diabetes is associated with long-term complications that affect almost every major part of the body. It contributes to blindness, heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, amputations, and nerve damage. Uncontrolled diabetes can complicate pregnancy, and birth defects are more common in babies born to women with diabetes.
Eye problems, such as glaucoma and cataracts, are common complications of diabetes. Eye issues generally appear any time after five years of Type I diabetes and at any time in Type II diabetics. Eye problems do not have to occur, however; if a diabetic maintains a good blood glucose level and blood pressure level, eye problems may be prevented.
