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When a person hears the term diabetes, what generally comes to mind? Usually, most people think of diabetes as relating only to blood sugar levels. What they may not realize is that diabetes also affects many of the body’s other organs. The eyes are one of the organs that are commonly affected.

During diabetes there are some changes that are termed as diabetic retinopathy in which at the back of the eyes there are damages of the blood vessels. So diabetic retinopathy may have some long term effects. Initially it starts with when you can see normally moving down to a blurred vision and then patchy vision which even cannot be corrected using spectacles. Other problems are like balancing, reading, watching television and recognition of the people. There would also be also a problem by being over-sensitive to the limelight and facing difficulty in seeing in the night.

It is impossible to tell who will or will not develop diabetic retinopathy when diagnosed with diabetes. Approximately two thirds of the patients that are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes will have some kind of significant retinal disease by the time they have been diagnosed for thirty five years. The other one third of patients will develop a condition called macular oedema, which is a swelling of the central area of vision.

Patients who have had diabetes for thirty years, rely on insulin shots, or do not take steps to manage their diabetes are most likely to develop some form of retinal disease. For persons between the ages of 25 years to 74 years of age, diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness. In the United States each year, more than twelve percent of the new cases of blindness reported are due to diabetes. Other ethnic groups report higher rates. In Mexico, of the twenty percent of patients that were referred to endocrinologist or diabetologists, forty percent of them suffered from sight threatening problems.

Blindness related to diabetes or diabetic retinopathy is one of the complications for the metabolic disease. Many of the people around the globe are not even aware that they suffer with diabetes. Some screening programs should be conducted for the welfare of the patients of diabetes. An overall screening program should pay attention towards testing the sugar level in blood as well as various other requirements of the patients like themselves moving into the communities rather than looking forward to them coming to the community for screening.

More and more people should be reached with the help of mobile clinics by the public health screenings. NGOs should also lend a helping hand in arranging these programs thereby screening people at various places for a long time. There should be a system under which patients suffering with diabetes should be followed up at each primary healthcare centre with the help of ministry of health.

In order to control diabetes, patients need to gain control of this disease that is afflicting their body. By gaining control of diabetes, it can prevent complications, or detect conditions before they become severe enough to cause loss of vision. In cases where the damage is already started, diabetes control and treatment can prevent the damage from becoming much worse. Obtaining yearly eye exams for patients with diabetes is highly recommended, this differs from persons that do not have diabetes, who should get eye exams every two years. Should you experience symptoms such as sudden onset of blurred vision, seek medical attention immediately.

Last 5 posts by Julia Hanf

• Diabetes - Minimizing Effects of Diabetes - July 16th, 2008
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• 24 Hour Insulin - May 22nd, 2008

Tags: Diabetes