Submitted by administrator on
To mark the birthday of Frederick Banting who was instrumental in the discovery of insulin in 1922, World Diabetes Day is celebrated on the 14th November each year to raise awareness for the disease and as such it is important to remember the role that opticians and other eye care specialists play in the diagnosis of this condition.
WDD was first started by the IDF and WHO, both eager to increase public knowledge of the disease and its treatments. On estimate, the World Health Organisation believe as many as 246 million people suffer with the condition around the globe. In conjunction with this statistic, around 80% of diabetes related deaths occur in countries with lower incomes.
Once such form of diabetes, type 2, has a number of different symptoms which can be recognised by a simple trip to your local optician. With opticians trained to notice the signs of the conditions onset, the public are again being urged to regularly visit their opticians, once every 2 years, to check for signs of eye sight deterioration. In the case of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and kidney failure are common and well known complications, where as blindness may not be as commonly known. A diabetes 2 sufferer can be as much as 20x more likely to go blind than someone without the condition, due to diabetic retinopathy. However, early diagnosis by eye examination and the following treatment sees the vast majority of patients vision being saved.
Symptoms can include:
- Increased urination
- Increased thirst
- Weight loss
- Blurred vision
- Fatigue