Prevent Blindness
America has designated November as National Diabetic Eye Disease
Awareness Month. Although there is no cure for diabetic eye disease, annual dilated
eye exams for diabetes patients are essential to help slow the progression of
the disease. Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness in adults
20-74 years of age with almost 8 million people ages 40 and older who have diabetic
retinopathy, a potentially blinding eye problem.
Preventing Vision Loss from Diabetic Retinopathy
Vision loss from diabetic retinopathy can be prevented if
it's caught early and treated in time. More
than one third of those diagnosed with diabetes do not adhere to vision care
guidelines recommending a dilated eye exam every year. As part of Diabetic
Eye Disease Awareness Month we are urging people with diabetes to have a
dilated eye exam every year. The longer a person has diabetes, the greater his
or her risk for developing diabetic retinopathy. However, diabetic retinopathy
does not only affect people who have had diabetes for many years, it can also
appear within the first year or two after the onset of the disease.
In addition to having regular eye examinations and testing
at the direction of your eye doctor, patients can help to reduce the risk of
developing diabetic eye disease by not smoking, controlling their cholesterol
and lipid profile and blood pressure, restricting alcohol consumption, as well
as working to eat a heart-healthy diet rich in fish, fruit and green leafy
vegetables and exercising.
If
you or someone you know has diabetes or even elevated blood sugar levels they
should work to prevent diabetic eye disease and problems with regular eye exams
at Alabama Eye & Cataract Center in Birmingham by calling
205-930-0930, visiting Alabama Eye & Cataract Center or
http://www.facebook.com/michelsonlaservision.
Alabama Eye & Cataract Center in Birmingham is
located at UAB-Highlands, 1201 11th Avenue S, Suite 501, Birmingham, Alabama
35205 and staffed by UAB Medicine ophthalmologists Marc Michelson, M.D. and
Tyler Hall, M.D.
