Understanding The Connection Between High Cholesterol And Your Vision
If you've been diagnosed with high cholesterol, you might think that it's nothing to worry about. Many people fail to realize the dangers of high cholesterol and the many areas in your body that it can affect. For example, high cholesterol can lead to a series of vision problems if left untreated. Here are a few of the things you should discuss with your eye doctor.
Visible Corneal Deposits
High cholesterol can lead to fatty deposits around the outer edge of your cornea. Usually yellow or grey in color, these deposits don't normally interfere with your vision. Getting your cholesterol levels under control is often the best way to address these because they can dissolve on their own when your cholesterol is lower.
Retinal Vein Blockage
Your eyes are full of many very small blood vessels. Cholesterol lines the inside of the blood vessels and can actually cause blockages in the tiny vessels of your eyes. This can inhibit the flow of blood to your retina. This can lead to pressure buildup in the affected vessel, which may ultimately cause it to burst. If that happens, it can lead to complete vision loss in that eye. If you are noticing things like blurriness or partial vision loss in your eye, you should reach out to your eye doctor. He or she can schedule laser surgery to ease the pressure and avoid a burst blood vessel.
Deposits of Fat Around Your Eyes
Soft yellow bumps and deposits around your eyes are often the result of high cholesterol levels. While your eyes are one of the most common places for these deposits to form, they can appear in many other places as well. If you do start to see skin changes around your eyes, it's often a warning sign that your cholesterol levels are excessive. In fact, your eye doctor may even recommend that you talk with your family physician if he or she spots this. It's is one of the earlier warning signs that many optometrists pick up on before high cholesterol is diagnosed through a primary care provider.
As you can see, high cholesterol is a condition that you shouldn't underestimate. You'll want to be proactive about addressing your cholesterol right away if you find out that yours is too high. With the help of your optometrist and your primary care provider, you can prevent problems with your vision as a result of high cholesterol levels.