Unexpected sight loss is more prevalent than what you may expect. Blindness often happens without prior warning signs and in people unaware they are at risk.
The two most common culprits of unexpected sight loss are diabetes and glaucoma. These diseases are known as the “sneak thieves of sight” because symptoms may not occur in the early stages. By the time a person realizes something is wrong, irreversible vision loss often occurs.
As a matter of fact, diabetic eye disease is considered the number one cause of adult blindness. On an average, there are 55 Americans per day who lose their eyesight due to this disease. And this is a number that is constantly on the rise, largely due to diabetes being caused by an improper diet, a sedentary lifestyle and the natural process of aging. One third of all children born in the United States half a decade ago are expected to develop diabetes at some point in their lives.
Seventy percent of those who suffer from diabetes also suffer from a partial or complete loss of eyesight. Yet 30 percent of all people who have diabetes don’t even know they have it. Even those who know they suffer from diabetes de-emphasize their condition and the possible complications.
According to a survey of diabetics, 60 percent were not worried about going blind or losing a limb. In reality, 74 percent of diabetics will develop serious complications that could lead to loss of sight or a limb or kidney failure.
Glaucoma, on the other hand, is a group of eye diseases that slowly damage the fine nerves that connect the eye to the brain. Most individuals suffer eye damage due to an unusually high level of pressure in the eye. One may lose his or her vision when the nerves are damaged by the pressure.
Glaucoma is the second-leading cause of blindness in the United States. Unlike diabetes, where most people who have it know that they do, about half of the estimated four million Americans with glaucoma do not realize they suffer from this condition.
African-Americans and Hispanics are two ethnic groups that are particularly susceptible to diabetes and glaucoma. This is because the two groups have been found to be more predisposed genetically to these diseases, thus putting them at a greater degree of risk than Caucasian individuals. Other individuals who may have a greater risk of glaucoma than others are people over 60 years old, people who have family members who suffered from glaucoma, extremely near-sighted people and diabetics.
Fortunately, those who now realize they are at risk can get a dilated eye exam to detect both diseases and if treatment is done expediently, vision loss can be prevented. Vision experts urge at-risk people to have regular eye exams.
It would behoove you to do your part in increasing the awareness of diabetic eye disease and glaucoma — one small step to eliminating the threat of unnecessary blindness.
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