blindness cases in Minnesota. Since risk of diabetes increases, so has this complication. The Department of Health in Minnesota published the statistics, that the main cause of blindness is diabetes. Approximately 500 to 800 each year are blinded by the complications of this disease.
The most common eye disease in the context of diabetes is retinopathy, but this should not be the case. Why? Since the MOA or Minnesota Optometric Association says that early treatment of this condition will reduce the severe vision loss by 50-60%. This is the best time to raise awareness of this condition, there are records of individual cases, how people deal with this problem.
For example, a 57-year-old lawyer in Toronto, has hardly any vision and relies on special equipment to him in his work, and dealing with his family. His assistant used to the documents in extra large font, but now the lawyer has other technology, which helps him.
One thing that he maintains, is a desktop CCTV with a video camera and a computer monitor. It provides the document on the tray below the camera. The magnified image beamed to a screen. The words are an inch high.
This lawyer is happiness in a way, because he is on a low-vision rehabilitation clinic, where he was able to set advanced visual aids that reduce the burden of his disability. LVR helps patients through the use of personal equipment and training so that they can, what else they have vision as good as they can.
Low visual rehabilitation is for people who are no longer covered by standard therapies such as strong reading classes. Up to this moment, they are by their eye care specialists, that they can no longer help. LVR is not lost that vision, but it means that people could keep their jobs longer and maintain their independence.
As in the case of the lawyer, he was prescribed two units after a detailed evaluation. He was in a position, a two-inch long telescope attaches to, that his glasses and a pair of prismatic lenses. The attorney bears the telescope in a string around the neck. He uses this when he needs to see what the distance.
The President of the MOA Board of Trustees, Dr. Tina McCarty, which is also an ophthalmologist at Eye Care Center said that diabetes is properly managed can have an integrated health program. This should be for an annual comprehensive eye examination. People should know that diabetes can cause vision loss and need regular exams.
About 60% of Type-1-diabetes patients have signs of retinopathy after ten years. After fifteen years, nearly all type 1 diabetics have retinopathy. The problem is that patients do not notice the signs. This is a problem, because early detection and treatment is important to prevent blindness.
changes in the retinal blood vessels can lead to a diabetic neuropathy. In this case, in May the blood vessels swell and leak fluid is. In other cases, abnormal blood vessels grow directly on the surface of the retina. Blindness could be the result of these changes. What can we do to avoid this?
Get an eye exam every year, so he will be caught early. As soon as the diabetic retinopathy is here to take the medication as the doctor ordered. Keep eating a healthy diet and stay on a regular exercise program. Also, the high blood pressure and high blood glucose levels. And last but not least, to smoking and alcohol drinking.
Here are the signs of retinopathy. See the eye doctor if any of these symptoms:
- Blurry Vision
- or an injured eye
- Feeling pressure in the eye
- Seeing Double, spots or floaters
- reading problems
- Can not see what's on the sides and above
Both
There you have a background information on the retinopathy. They have the knowledge of what to do in order to prevent these terrible complications. There are also advanced visual aids to help you get your work more to keep and maintain your independence. It is not the end of the word when it comes to the possibility of blindness.
Please visit these sites for more diabetes help:
Brief Biography: Dr. Guzman worked for the Atlantic Health Corporation and was consultant to St. Joseph’s Hospital, Sussex Mental Health Clinic, and St. Stephen Mental Health Clinic for many years. He was Director of Forensic Psychiatry at Centracare for ten years and published numerous articles in the Journal of the American College of Forensic Psychiatry and other medical magazines.
Copyright � May 21, 2009 Roger Guzman, M.D. (Blindness – What to Know to Guide You on What To Do) All Rights Reserved. You may copy and publish this article as long as the text, the author’s name, the active links and this notice remain the same.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roger_Guzman
