Diabetes Facts

Diabetes and vision problems

Back in 1950 and 60 years most people did not rate diabetes as a major problem. In This time, all attention was on how to treat several diseases such as polio and tuberculosis. If diabetes was thought, it is more under the cup sugar in your coffee, rather than as a serious threat to your eyesight or your life.

All that has changed. No exaggeration to say that diabetes has reached epidemic levels in most of the Western world. According to the American Diabetes Association, there are more 20 million diabetics in the United States alone, with a staggering third undiagnosed. It is also going to get much worse with another 41 million Americans are already signs of pre-diabetes.

Diabetes is a disease that mainly affects the blood vessels and in its extreme forms can lead to serious heart disease, stroke and kidney damage. It is obvious that these fatal diabetic vascular disease deserve priority attention, but above the critical list for diabetics is the risk of serious eye diseases and vision loss.

Vision is one of our most critical and, in this "need for speed" information era, over 70% of our sensory information passes through our eyes. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, diabetics are 25 times more likely to lose the vision of those who are not diabetic. With diabetes already the leading cause of blindness in the United States, it is not surprising that eye care professionals are devastating foresee an increase in the loss of vision that the epidemic Diabetes is becoming more alarming.

newly diagnosed diabetics have often nothing more than minor changes that govern vision when levels of sugar in the blood to improve treatment. From the outset, it is easy to believe that everything is fine. After a few years, however, blood glucose remains high may gradually damage the blood vessels in the back of the eye in the retina. This poses a problem the diabetic retinopathy and the longer you have diabetes, you are more likely to have retinopathy. The risk increases when there is poor control glycemic. Over 70% of diabetics develop some changes to their eyes in 15 years of diagnosis.

The retinopathy is classified as non-proliferation or proliferation. Non-proliferation retinopathy is the benign form, the retina where small blood vessels break and leak. It may be a slight swelling of the retina, but it rarely requires treatment unless it causes blurred central vision or straight lines appear distorted.

Proliferative retinopathy is the less frequent but more serious when new blood vessels grow abnormally in the retina. If these vessels scar or purge they can potentially lead to severe vision loss, including blindness. Launch of a laser treatment may Seal leaks vessels and slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy, but can not reverse the current loss of vision.

For the moment there is no magic "Pill" to eliminate the risk of diabetic eye damage, but you can do two important things to help prevent further complications serious. poor blood sugar is a major cause of severe diabetic retinopathy. The first critical step is to ensure stability and control your blood sugar with a healthy diet and regular exercise. The second step is to ensure that you have a diabetic an eye examination. Experience eye care professional can detect subtle changes diabetic eye long before you notice a change in vision and, more importantly, enough time to do good.

If you or your family is affected by increasing signs of diabetes: take action now to reduce your risk of loss vision. Do not be a victim!

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