they might be symptoms of diabetes,” recalls Dr. you need to be evaluated for diabetes her uncontrolled diabetes in the early stages, before major damage …
Diabetes Discovery Via the Eyes
A routine eye exam can show so many things Some, run-of-the-mill for sure the tiny change in prescription, the need for a different type of contact lens Others, though, can be downright life changing and life saving for that matter One doctor found out first-hand when she did the same thing she does every day she looked into a patients eyes But this was no ordinary exam When Kathleen Clary, OD, peered into her 48-year-old patients eyes, she saw blood It sounds horrible, and it is The blood and other fluids were seeping out fragile and miniscule vessels in her retinas The retina is the light and sight-sensing back part of the eye and without it, you dont see As soon as I noticed the leaking fluids and the hemorrhaging, I suspected that they might be symptoms of diabetes, recalls Dr Clary, who practices in the Washington, DC, suburb of Ashburn, Va In my 12 years of experience as an eye doctor, that kind of bleeding usually signals that a buildup of sugar in the patients bloodstream has begun to break down the capillaries that feed the retina The result is often what we call diabetic retinopathy a condition in which continuing damage to retinal
tissue from diabetes can lead to Continuing damage impaired vision or even blindness, to retinal tissue from if left untreated The eye exam was diabetes can lead the very first clue the patient had to impaired vision or that she might have diabetes Now, it was time for action Dr Clary talked with her patient about what she saw yellowish fluids and dots of blood showing up on her retinas And, she told her what it could mean I want you to have your blood sugar level checked right away by your family doctor, she told her patient Tell the doctor you need to be evaluated for diabetes with a fasting blood sugar test, because your optometrist noticed some retinal bleeding Dr Clary was right a medical exam the next day did indeed show the patient had diabetes Whats more, her blood sugar level was more than quadruple whats normal Insulin therapy and a new approach to diet and exercise came next Fast forward a few months, and youd find a much happier Dr Clary and much healthier patient The retinal bleeding had stopped, and her eyesight had begun to improve, says the Virginia doctor I think her vision has very likely been spared because she was able to catch her uncontrolled diabetes in
the early stages, before major damage to her retina Dr Clary calls it, a very encouraging outcome Im glad I was able to help this patient protect her eyesight That retinal exam really made a difference and its a good example of why I tell patients that a yearly eye exam can protect your vision and your health
Recent health studies reveal that as many as 24,000 people lose their sight every year to diabetes and diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness in the US
even blindness
