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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
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It's a health problem with national proportions: loss of eyesight in people with diabetes.
Diabetic eye disease causes as many as 25,000 new cases of blindness every year. And diabetics are 25 times more likely to become blind than those without the disease. The only way to diagnose early signs of diabetic eye disease is through a yearly dilated eye exam.
There are no early warning signs or symptoms for diabetic eye disease. Most people with diabetic eye disease do not realize that their eyesight is slowly deteriorating. Eyesight loss resulting from diabetes cannot be restored. But about 90 percent of the time, early detection through eye exams -- as well as laser surgery in some cases -- has helped preserve vision.
Nearly half of the nation's 16 million people with diabetes will develop diabetic retinopathy, the most common form of diabetic eye disease. Diabetic retinopathy damages the tiny blood vessels in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. Diabetics may also suffer from cataracts and glaucoma.
The longer you have diabetes, the more apt you are to develop diabetic retinopathy. Yet studies show that diabetics who keep their blood sugar levels as normal as possible can slow the onset and progression of diabetic retinopathy and lessen the need for laser surgery to correct vision problems. This may also help reduce other complications from the disease, such as kidney disease, stroke, and nerve damage.
A free brochure, Don't Lose Sight of Diabetic Eye Disease, is available by writing to:
A faxed copy of Having Diabetes for Several Years Increases Risk of Retinopathy can be obtained from the American Optometric Association. Call 1-800-365-2219 and ask for Vision FAX #0014.
This article is a NetWellness exclusive. 
Last Reviewed: Jun 09, 2005
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Robert D. Newcomb, OD, MPH, FAAO Professor of Clinical Optometry College of Optometry The Ohio State University |
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