As many of you are aware, most men are actually growing a mustache for Movember to raise funds for Prostate Cancer. Did you know it’s also Diabetes month?
The other day I had a healthy 35 year old male patient that came in for an eye exam because his wife made him. He sees 20/20 vision and only complains about intermittent blur after dinner. After his dilated eye exam, this is what we saw in the back of his eye.
He was diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy and was unaware that he had diabetes. He was sent to his family doctor for a diabetic workup. He was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and his diabetes is under control now with medications.
Prevention: Stable blood sugars significantly reduces the risk of developing diabetic retinopathy
Symptoms: In early stages, there are no symptoms, so regular eye exams are the best way to detect retinal changes. By the time there is blurred vision, serious irreversible damage may have occured
Treatment: If there are a lot of swelling and bleeding, a referral will be sent to the retinal specialist where photocoagulation or injections are needed to stop the bleeding.
Diabetic retinopathy is the one of the most common cause of blindness. Regular eye exams are a crucial part of health care for people with diabetes. It is also important that adults get regular eye exam. If you haven’t had one for the past 2 years, it might be time to consider to get your eyes checked. 20/20 vision does not mean healthy eyes!!!!!