Allergy test and all the benefits you get from it

Contributed by – Krushna Charan

Among all the common diseases, diabetes stands out from the rest. According to the estimation, 77 million people in India have been diagnosed with diabetes. Once you are affected by diabetes, you require information, education, support, and self-management skills for effective control and treatment.

Diabetes is caused by low or high blood sugar levels in your blood. When your blood sugar level is higher than normal it starts to affect your eyes in such a way that your vision may get blurry. If diabetes is not controlled then the condition of your eyes can get worse and even lead to partial or complete blindness. It is therefore important to know how diabetes affects your eyes and how keeping it control is the only way to protect your eyes.

Diabetes and eye problems

Diabetes occurs if your pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or your body can’t use it properly. Insulin is the hormone that ensures that the glucose entering the bloodstream from the digestion of food must be removed from the blood. The result of insufficient action of insulin increases the blood glucose concentration in blood and causes hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia also refers to high blood sugar levels in your blood. It may cause nerve damage and worsen your vision.

There is a condition called hypoglycemia which is the opposite of hyperglycemia, which is caused by low blood sugar levels in your blood. The mild symptoms of hypoglycemia also include blurry vision or double vision, and difficulty in concentration.

Eye diseases caused by diabetes

Blurry vision

The damage to your eyes starts when high levels of sugar in the bloodstream blocks the tiny blood vessels that go to your retina, causing them to leak fluid or bleed. In healthy eyes, there is a balance between the fluid that is made and the fluid that leaves the eye. Therefore, this fluid creates constant pressure within the eye and is needed to keep the eye swelled, supported, and working appropriately. Blurry vision may be caused due to the extra fluid leaking into the lens of the eyes. This can lead to the change in the shape of the lens and make it hard for your eyes to focus.

Short-term elevations in blood sugar levels can also affect the lens of the eye, causing blurred vision. Only after controlling diabetes, your blurry vision may get better. Sometimes the blurred vision causes a person to see an ophthalmologist, who then makes the diagnosis of diabetes.

To increase the level of insulin, some people take medicines as prescribed by their doctor and this might be the reason for blurry vision. Long term effects of blurry vision may lead to diabetic eye diseases like diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, and glaucoma.

Diabetic retinopathy

At the back of the eye on the retina, there are tiny blood vessels that nourish the nerves of your eyes. High glucose levels can injure these blood vessels. Those injured blood vessels can also leak fluid and cause swelling in an area of the retina called macular oedema, which can cause the loss of central vision, making it difficult to read or drive.

Glaucoma

In this condition, new fluid is constantly being made within the eye, and the fluid that is being replaced leaves the eye by entering a drainage meshwork towards the front of the eye. The blockage of the drainage system can lead to increased fluid pressure within the eye. This condition is called glaucoma. It may happen due to the eye pressure that is caused by high blood sugar levels in diabetes.

Cataracts

High glucose level causes changes in the proteins inside the cells of the lens and alters the optical properties of the lens. A cataract is caused by clouding of the lens in the eye in a way that the person can’t see clearly. The symptoms of cataracts are gradual blurring of the vision, glare in bright light or sunlight, and poor colour vision, etc. Many people may have cataracts after ageing, but it is seen more often in people who are suffering from diabetes.

How can vision losses be prevented in diabetes?

Early detection and timely treatment can prevent vision loss or blurry vision due to diabetes. Some self-management techniques to control diabetes are:

• Control your blood sugar level
• Maintain a healthy diet
• Avoid smoking
• Go for an annual eye test
• Do some eye exercise

The first concerns in treating diabetic patients are to save a life, alleviate symptoms, and enhance the quality of individuals’ life. Thereafter treatment aims to minimize long-term complications. You should try to maintain your blood pressure, check your cholesterol more often to prevent diabetes-related eye diseases.

Among many diseases, diabetes requires more self-management and primary care than others. Not only adhere to a special diet but also those who are undergoing insulin medication need to adjust their dose and watch their blood sugar levels closely.

Among all the common diseases, diabetes stands out from the rest. According to the estimation, 77 million people in India have been diagnosed with diabetes. Once you are affected by diabetes, you require information, education, support, and self-management skills for effective control and treatment.

Diabetes is caused by low or high blood sugar levels in your blood. When your blood sugar level is higher than normal it starts to affect your eyes in such a way that your vision may get blurry. If diabetes is not controlled then the condition of your eyes can get worse and even lead to partial or complete blindness. It is therefore important to know how diabetes affects your eyes and how keeping it control is the only way to protect your eyes.

Diabetes and eye problems

Diabetes occurs if your pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or your body can’t use it properly. Insulin is the hormone that ensures that the glucose entering the bloodstream from the digestion of food must be removed from the blood. The result of insufficient action of insulin increases the blood glucose concentration in blood and causes hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia also refers to high blood sugar levels in your blood. It may cause nerve damage and worsen your vision.

There is a condition called hypoglycemia which is the opposite of hyperglycemia, which is caused by low blood sugar levels in your blood. The mild symptoms of hypoglycemia also include blurry vision or double vision, and difficulty in concentration.

Eye diseases caused by diabetes

Blurry vision

The damage to your eyes starts when high levels of sugar in the bloodstream blocks the tiny blood vessels that go to your retina, causing them to leak fluid or bleed. In healthy eyes, there is a balance between the fluid that is made and the fluid that leaves the eye. Therefore, this fluid creates constant pressure within the eye and is needed to keep the eye swelled, supported, and working appropriately. Blurry vision may be caused due to the extra fluid leaking into the lens of the eyes. This can lead to the change in the shape of the lens and make it hard for your eyes to focus.

Short-term elevations in blood sugar levels can also affect the lens of the eye, causing blurred vision. Only after controlling diabetes, your blurry vision may get better. Sometimes the blurred vision causes a person to see an ophthalmologist, who then makes the diagnosis of diabetes.

To increase the level of insulin, some people take medicines as prescribed by their doctor and this might be the reason for blurry vision. Long term effects of blurry vision may lead to diabetic eye diseases like diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, and glaucoma.

Diabetic retinopathy

At the back of the eye on the retina, there are tiny blood vessels that nourish the nerves of your eyes. High glucose levels can injure these blood vessels. Those injured blood vessels can also leak fluid and cause swelling in an area of the retina called macular oedema, which can cause the loss of central vision, making it difficult to read or drive.

Glaucoma

In this condition, new fluid is constantly being made within the eye, and the fluid that is being replaced leaves the eye by entering a drainage meshwork towards the front of the eye. The blockage of the drainage system can lead to increased fluid pressure within the eye. This condition is called glaucoma. It may happen due to the eye pressure that is caused by high blood sugar levels in diabetes.

Cataracts

High glucose level causes changes in the proteins inside the cells of the lens and alters the optical properties of the lens. A cataract is caused by clouding of the lens in the eye in a way that the person can’t see clearly. The symptoms of cataracts are gradual blurring of the vision, glare in bright light or sunlight, and poor colour vision, etc. Many people may have cataracts after ageing, but it is seen more often in people who are suffering from diabetes.

How can vision losses be prevented in diabetes?

Early detection and timely treatment can prevent vision loss or blurry vision due to diabetes. Some self-management techniques to control diabetes are:

• Control your blood sugar level
• Maintain a healthy diet
• Avoid smoking
• Go for an annual eye test
• Do some eye exercise

The first concerns in treating diabetic patients are to save a life, alleviate symptoms, and enhance the quality of individuals’ life. Thereafter treatment aims to minimize long-term complications. You should try to maintain your blood pressure, check your cholesterol more often to prevent diabetes-related eye diseases.

Among many diseases, diabetes requires more self-management and primary care than others. Not only adhere to a special diet but also those who are undergoing insulin medication need to adjust their dose and watch their blood sugar levels closely.

Being allergic means your immune system overreacts to otherwise non-threatening elements of our environment. Pollen in the air, dust in a carpet, or a simple peanut butter sandwich would become the cause of continuous sneezing, runny nose, or skin rashes. When you know what triggers your allergies, you can work on avoiding them.

But, the problem sets in when you don’t know about all of your triggers. Or in a worst-case scenario – you have no clue that you are allergic to certain things. Considering the fact that allergies can impact the quality of life and may sometimes lead to life-threatening reactions, you would not want to take a chance and leave your body to suffer.

So, what can you do here to prevent the misery or at least stay prepared?

An allergy test is your savior in this situation. What is it? How can it help you? What benefits does it have? Let’s see –

[Also read – Know the truth behind popular allergy myths]

What is an allergy test?

Allergy tests determine whether or not you are allergic to known substances. These are always done by trained allergy specialists. The exam can be done in the following ways – 

• Blood test – When you get exposed to a specific allergen, your body produces antibodies to fight that off. The blood tests detect these antibodies and their presence helps a doctor make a diagnosis. One of the most effective allergy blood tests is called Phadiatop. It uses ImmunoCAP containing a tiny sample of a wide range of inhalant allergens, the reaction of the blood with these allergens is determined to make a diagnosis. This test has an accuracy of over 90% and is one of the most reliable methods to understand the type of allergy you have.
• Skin test – There are three types of skin tests here (scratch, intradermal and patch tests). All three work by exposing your skin to a tiny amount of allergen to determine your body’s reaction to it.
• Elimination diet – This type is used to diagnose food allergies. It involves removing certain foods from the diet and later adding them back in to determine which foods cause problems. 

What are the benefits of an allergy test?

Takes the guesswork out

When you don’t really know about your allergies, you might wonder why after eating a sandwich your nose started running or why a cold breeze is making your skin red and itchy. You may dismiss these allergy symptoms thinking it’s nothing but a coincidence or you are just coming down with a cold when in fact you are having an allergic reaction. Every time you’ll get in contact with your allergens, you’ll have a reaction unless you start treatment. But, for that, you need to know the cause and this is where an allergy test helps. The allergy test will tell you what you are allergic to. It will tell you how severe your allergies are. And then accordingly you can plan further course of action.

[Also read – Allergy & Spring season: What is the relation?]

Eliminate suspected allergens and make lifestyle changes

Once you know what you are allergic to – peanut, pollen, dust, pet – you can work on eliminating these allergens from your life. If it’s a pet, you can find a new home for it. If it’s pollen, you can avoid going out when the amount of pollen in the air is high. However, in the case of food allergies, you should not stop taking any food without consulting a doctor because it may lead to deficiencies. Otherwise, simple lifestyle changes can certainly improve your quality of life.

Plan a proper treatment 

There are various allergy treatment options available such as immunotherapy and allergy shots. When you have an accurate diagnosis, you, with the help of a doctor, can plan proper treatment. Note that the treatment isn’t a cure. It just alleviates your symptoms. But even that is enough to make living with allergies easy.

So, if you think you are allergic but don’t know what triggers you, or aren’t sure whether you’re having an allergic reaction or coming down with a cold – get an allergy test done! Diagnose your condition before complications develop and it’s too late to do anything about it.