Raising awareness on World Diabetes Day
Post on 14th November 2018
Today is World Diabetes Day, a global awareness campaign that strikes a chord close to home with 3.7 million people diagnosed with the condition in the UK.
The diabetes epidemic is cause for concern as it affects more and more lives and is the leading cause of blindness in people of working age in the UK.
People with diabetes are advised to have their eyes tested every year. They can reduce their chances of developing diabetes complications, such as damage to the eyes, by controlling blood pressure, glucose, and blood fat levels, by keeping active, maintaining an ideal body weight and giving up smoking.
Sadly, around 30% of diabetics will develop diabetic retinopathy, which if left undetected could lead to blindness. Diabetic retinopathy – damage to the back of the eye (retina) – is treatable, but it has to be picked up first, underlining the value of screening appointments.
Even if you don’t have a serious health condition like diabetes, regular eye tests are important to see if your vision needs correcting, to check on the health of the eyes and to detect other health conditions.
So if you have any concerns about your eye health take the opportunity to book an eye test, and please don’t ignore reminders if appointments are due.
If you simply want some professional and friendly advice, call into a Scrivens branch. For more information about diabetes, visit www.diabetes.org.uk