Who are also Diagnosed with Type I or II Diabetes

While Diabetes is chronicled at affecting more than 23 million Americans, only 18 million Americans actually end up, being diagnosed properly with either Type I, or Type II Diabetes.

More importantly, not many Diabetics with Vision issues are told of the following statistics:

1)      Diabetes is the LEADING CAUSE of LEGAL BLINDNESS for all Type I and II patients, between the ages of 20 and 74 years.

2)      Currently being reported, of the 18 million Diabetics, approximately 28.5% already have some form of diabetic retinopathy.

What is Diabetic Retinopathy?

Diabetic Retinopathy is the most common of all diabetes-related eye diseases, and leads to severe loss of vision, or even complete blindness!

And, of all the Vision Patients, who also happen to be Diabetic – those African American and Latino populations carry the highest risk of eye disease complications, leading to legal blindness, than any other population type.

This startling increase in eye disease complications is so disturbing that it is vital for all Diabetic populations, currently with or without vision problems to become learned in understanding common Diabetic-related Eye Diseases and the symptoms – so that all our vision patients in San Francisco, California will become 1^st responders in self- recognizing specific symptoms, which should be immediately reported to their Eye Doctor, and their Medical Doctor.

For example, CATARACTS, a common vision problem that affects Diabetics has early symptoms which appear as a “cloudy formation” occurring in otherwise normal, clear vision.  If left untreated, this begins to decrease areas of normal vision, over-time becoming more frequent, sometimes requiring laser treatments and eye surgeries to correct, if caught early enough.

Another common eye disease condition, VISION FLUCTUATION occurs whenever the patient’s blood sugar level rise, the eye’s lens absorbs additional sugar and fluids, causing swelling.  The symptoms appear as a lessening in distance vision, that returns to normal vision, as the blood sugar levels are brought under control.  This is a first indicator that you are already experiencing very common eye disease conditions and need to be monitored very closely.

RETINOPATHY – Affects the patient in a quiet, stealthy manner and is hardly detectable.  The only sure way to measure eye pressure (what is going on behind the eye pupil, iris and cornea) is with regular vision appointments; most diabetic patients should be seen every 6 months, if they have problems maintaining great (below 120) blood sugar levels.

Any Diabetic patient that experiences vision loss, or visual decrease of any kind, should immediately make an appointment with a licensed Eye Doctor and begin to keep a Medical Log of all vision-related symptoms.

This is just as important to your health, as recording your blood sugar levels, if you expect to maintain your vision, all throughout your life.  It is evidenced that the longer an individual lives with diabetes, the more likely that individual will develop eye disease complications, secondary to the Diabetes.

Your vision insurance provider, will cover all required exam appointments mandated by your San Francisco, California Optometrists; so, call one of our Eye Doctors and schedule your vision care check-up today.