27/2/2010
Everyone knows that diabetes can cause blindness, but in the words of that old spiritual, 'It ain't necessarily so'.
When people think of losing their eyesight they think of many areas of their lives that would be affected, such as not being able to see the grandchildren, the garden or the racing form, but they tend to forget that important privilege which is also lost, and its impact makes a tremendous difference to our ability to live normal, independent lives and in many cases to make a living.
Driving. Something so normal most of us take our ability to drive completely for granted. Yet if vision becomes impaired we can lose our licence to do so. This can be difficult for the average person who drives to work, the shops, to visit people or for recreation, but for commercial truck drivers it can be devastating.
Optomeyes and Diabetes TASMANIA strongly advise people with diabetes to protect their vision by management of their diabetes having annual check ups with their GPs and ensuring that their:
- Blood glucose levels are within the recommended levels (4 - 8 if the person is less than 70 years old and 4 - 10 if older)
- Blood pressure is 130/80 or less
- Cholesterol levels are less than 4 mmol/L total cholesterol, with low density lipids 2.0 or less, triglycerides less than 1.5 and high density lipids more than 1.0 mmol/L
- And do not smoke
A further and equally important strategy is for people with diabetes to have their eyes checked annually by an Optometrist.
This is a vital check because optometrists are able to check the front of the eye for cataracts, eye pressure for glaucoma and the retina at the back of the eye for retinopathy. They can also detect macular degeneration. At the first sign of any problems the Optometrist will refer the client to an Ophthalmologist for immediate treatment of the problem.
If people with diabetes follow these guidelines, and have regular eye checks with an optometrist, the risk of becoming blind is greatly reduced. They will be able to continue enjoy all their previous visual pleasures and importantly, driving the grandchildren around, visiting botanical gardens and parks and the race course, and of course, driving for a living.
Maggie Lasdauskas RN - CDE
Manager Diabetes Education Services
Diabetes TASMANIA











