In November, we acknowledge American Diabetes Month and with it the serious toll the disease can take on your eyes. Prevent Blindness America attempts to raise awareness on the damage to the small blood vessels that nourish the retina when your blood sugar is not under control.
The numbers for this disease speak for themselves:
The numbers for this disease speak for themselves:
- 24 million children and adults in the U.S. have diabetes.
- 7.7 million Americans suffer from diabetic retinopathy.
- 25,000 people go blind from diabetic retinopathy every year.
- 25x more likely to lose your sight from retinopathy, glaucoma or cataracts if you have diabetes.
What are the symptoms?
Often, there are no symptoms in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy. Vision may seem unchanged until the disease becomes severe. Eventually, the vision of a person with diabetic retinopathy may become blurred or blocked entirely. But even in more advanced cases the disease may progress without symptoms for a long time. That is why regular eye exams are so important for people with diabetes.
See an Eye Doctor at Least Once a Year!!!
Early treatment of serious diabetic retinopathy can improve the chance of saving your sight. For some people, diabetic retinopathy may be one of the first signs that they have diabetes. Adults and children who have diabetes should have a dilated eye exam at least once a year.
At Academy of Eye Care, Dr. Byers always dilates your eyes as part of your eye examination. Eye drops are used to widen your pupils to allow a close look at the inside of the eye. We even have advanced technology of the Topcon 3D OCT to exam the layers of the retina and macular tissue in detail.
[Source: Prevent Blindness America]
Often, there are no symptoms in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy. Vision may seem unchanged until the disease becomes severe. Eventually, the vision of a person with diabetic retinopathy may become blurred or blocked entirely. But even in more advanced cases the disease may progress without symptoms for a long time. That is why regular eye exams are so important for people with diabetes.
See an Eye Doctor at Least Once a Year!!!
Early treatment of serious diabetic retinopathy can improve the chance of saving your sight. For some people, diabetic retinopathy may be one of the first signs that they have diabetes. Adults and children who have diabetes should have a dilated eye exam at least once a year.
At Academy of Eye Care, Dr. Byers always dilates your eyes as part of your eye examination. Eye drops are used to widen your pupils to allow a close look at the inside of the eye. We even have advanced technology of the Topcon 3D OCT to exam the layers of the retina and macular tissue in detail.
[Source: Prevent Blindness America]
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