OPHTHALMOLOGIST DR. Donovan Calder has urged persons with diabetes to have their eyes checked regularly to prevent blindness.
He was speaking at a lunch hour session held recently at the Ministry of Health downtown Kingston under the theme, "Your eyes and diabetes: Don't lose sight of the risks". The session was part of activities to observe Diabetes Week from November 10 to 16.
Stating that diabetes was one of the leading causes of blindness among adults, Dr. Calder said that persons with the chronic blood sugar disease needed to take more active roles in managing their health, including having "timely screening" of the eyes.
"You need to know what is the best time to do the screenings and you achieve these by doing studies which will guide you and you need to intervene early. You don't want to wait until the complication has set in and everything is bad," he stated.
The Ophthalmologist noted that poor management of the disease could lead to a condition called diabetic retinopathy, which is damage of the retina. Retinopathy does not occur in all people with diabetes, and rarely interferes with vision in the first 10 to 15 years of diabetes. The condition however, may lead to blindness.
The early stage of the disorder is called background retinopathy. At this stage there is rarely any change in vision, but there may be damage to the central vision that is necessary for reading.
The more advanced stage of the disease is known as proliferate retinopathy and is characterised by new, abnormal blood vessels growing over the inner surface of the eye. These new blood vessels tend to be very fragile, producing two potential threats to the vision.
Firstly, there is the risk of bleeding into the vitreous substance, which is the gelatinous substance that fills the interior of the eyeball between the lens and the retina. The bleeding can cause "cobwebs" in the vision, blocking out light completely, causing blindness.
The second worry is that scar tissue developing on the retina can reduce vision by blocking out light, or may pull the retina out of its normal position, causing retinal detachment.
Pointing out that help was available for people with diabetic retinopathy, Dr. Calder said treatment included the use of a laser to conduct a procedure called photocoagulation. Vision is preserved because the treatment causes the abnormal blood vessels to fade away and halts the growth of new ones. The procedure can also be used to preserve the crucial central vision, the Ophthalmologist said.
In cases where light cannot reach the retina, it may be possible to remove the vitreous substance surgically, in a procedure called a vitrectomy. This procedure sometimes restores the ability to see.
Dr. Calder said however, that tight control of the blood sugar level would delay the development of retinopathy.
Some 135 million persons in the world have diabetes. Meanwhile, in Jamaica it is projected that one in every 10 persons in Jamaica will develop the condition.
