In people who have diabetes, sugar builds up in the bloodstream instead of going The goal of treating diabetes is to control it by keeping the blood sugar …
Pre-diabetics Need Extra Focus on Vision
Diabetes has been called a national epidemic The sad part: the explosion in the condition has a lot to do with Americas expanding waistline With diet and lifestyle changes, many people can delay, if not entirely prevent, the disease from taking hold That means controlling blood sugar levels when they are higher than normal, but not quite into the official diabetes realm Especially when youre diagnosed with pre-diabetes One of the well-known effects of diabetes is damage to eyes and vision caused by diabetic retinopathy But a big surprise might be this: early stages of retinopathy can tag along with pre-diabetes In retinopathy, the delicate blood vessels in the eye swell or bleed Or they can also grow abnormally on the retina itself This allows unprocessed blood sugars, fats and proteins to leak out weakened blood vessels Thats what damages the retina and can cause Early stages of vision loss retinopathy can
tag along with pre-diabetes
Dr Anastasios Fokas, an optometrist in Queens, New York City, has seen for himself how quickly eye problems can start with pre-diabetes
A few months back, he saw a patient who had recently been
diagnosed with pre-diabetes To check for early eye problems, he did a dilated exam Sure enough, the disease was already at work Right away, I found two tiny spots of blood in the retina of one eye, he says Those blood spots were a sure sign of diabetic retinopathy Finding this early gave the patient a good shot at preventing more damage Dietary counseling, exercise and treatments like laser therapy can help, says Dr Fokas Diabetes and Pre-diabetes Facts 54 million Americans have pre-diabetes and most dont know it Nearly 21 million Americans have diabetes One in three people with diabetes dont know they have it Diabetes accounts for about 24,000 new cases of vision loss each year Recent research by the US National Eye Institute showed that 8 of pre-diabetics were already showing signs of retinopathy Lifestyle risks for diabetes are physical inactivity, poor diet and obesity Diabetes has genetic factors like family history and ethnicity Black Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Asian and Pacific Islanders Other factors: older age, gestational diabetes or a baby weighing more than nine pounds at birth
Source:cluw.org
