Sometimes it is not just an ailment which is risky; being unaware of it is all the more dangerous. This is exactly what is happening in cases of individuals losing sight because of diabetes.A new study has found that out of all the people losing their vision to diabetes, less than half were told by their doctors that diabetes could damage their eyesight.
Vision loss in a common risk factor for diabetics and affects a lot of people. It is caused when diabetes damages the blood vessels within the eye. In almost all cases, the problem can be effectively treated. But to seek treatment, sufferers must be aware of the potential complication. Johns Hopkins researchers found that many diabetics aren't taking care of their eyes.
Out of every five diabetics in danger of losing their vision to diabetes, three told the researchers that they couldn’t recall their doctor describing the link between diabetes and vision loss to them.
"Many of them were not getting to someone to examine them for eye problems," said study leader Dr. Neil Bressler, a professor of ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
"That's a shame because in many of these cases you can treat this condition if you catch it in an early enough stage," added Bressler, who is also the chief of the retina division at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute.
One-third of the people said they already had suffered some vision loss related to their diabetes, according to the report.
The study appeared in the Dec. 19 online issue of the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.
Source: HealthDay Reporter
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