Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes is a multi system disease. It commonly affects the kidneys,
heart, nerves and eyes. It is one of the leading causes of blindness.
New advances and treatment techniques, both medical and surgical,
can reduce the risk of blindness form diabetes by 90%. Diabetics
are 25 times more likely to go blind than Non-Diabetics.
Good Control
is Paramount
Haemoglobin
A1C Test is the best way to make sure you
are controlling your diabetes. It is the measurement of the Haemoglobin
with glucose and other sugars chemically bound to it. This is also
referred to as glycosylated or a glycated haemoglobin test. In
a person who does not have diabetes, about 5 to 6 percent of all
haemoglobin
is glycated. For someone with diabetes and high blood glucose levels,
the haemoglobin A1C level is higher than normal.
A haemoglobin
A1C test gives you a picture of your average
blood glucose levels for the past three to four months. This test
must be done by a laboratoryon a specimen of blood usually from
the arm. In some ways, the haemoglobin A1C
test is like the coach with the stopwatch talking to an athlete
after a race. Both the haemoglobin A1C test
and the coach tell you how you are really going. The overall average
blood glucose is like checking your time with the coach. This test
means you can get control of the big picture and not cheat yourself
by thinking you are better than you really are.
Background Retinopathy
In diabetes the blood vessels in the retina may deteriorate. These
vessels develop weak walls and may swell (microaneurysms) or bleed
into the retina. Others may leak fluid. These problems can disturb
the vision.
Proliferative Retinopathy
In areas where
the retina has been badly damaged, new vessels may develop. This
proliferation of new capillaries can lead to severe bleeding and
loss of vision. Surprisingly many diabetics get no warning symptoms
of the damage their disease is doing to their eyes. Diabetic retinopathy
is often present and there are no symptoms. It is quite often late
in the disease process before the vision becomes blurred. If you
are a diabetic, you need regular eye checks.
Laser Treatment
Early detection and treatment using laser
photocoagulation has improved the outlook for diabetics. It has greatly
reduced the chance of serious loss of sight. |
