Diabetic retinopathy is a condition that affects 75 % of diabetes patients, but 57 % of people living with this disease have never performed a background assessment, he told EFE Blanca López today.
The general director of the Vamos Vista Foundation said that because of this "a high percentage of diabetes patients are diagnosed when the disease is already very advanced and develop diabetic retinopathy, the main cause of irreversible blindness and visual weakness."
López said that, although it is recommended that patients with diabetes go to the ophthalmologist every six months "there are few people who have the culture of going to review."
The ophthalmologist José Santos Valenzuela, explained that diabetic retinopathy is a condition that causes decrease in vision, which makes the patient see blurred.
"Unfortunately, this disease in its beginnings does not give any eye discomfort, which causes its difficult detection and prevention," said the specialist.
The expert said that this disease can occur in patients with type 1 diabetes and type 2 who generally have more than 10 years of evolution of the condition.
This complication makes the retina vasculature closed in a chronic way, due to high blood sugar levels.
The problem, López added, is that the figures of patients with diabetes today "are alarming and the number is expected to increase in the coming years."
According to figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2014 it was estimated that there were 422 million people with diabetes.
In Mexico, it is estimated that this disease affects between 12 and 14 million people.
However, the diabetic patient rarely makes importance to his visual health, so Dr. Valenzuela exalted the need for all people, when they are diagnosed with diabetes, come with a specialist to review their ocular capacity.
"It is very important, because although diabetic retinopathy cannot be prevented, its development can be stopped and prevent blindness from reaching," he said.
It is fair with the aim of awareness of this condition that the Foundation is seeing launched this year the campaign "Prevention of blindness in the diabetic patient" that will last until November of this year.
The 2018 Foundation campaign aims to sensitize people with this evil of the importance of early ophthalmological care, preventing the devastating eye consequences of this disease.
"The purpose is to sensitize people who suffer from this evil of the importance of early ophthalmological care, thus preventing the devastating eye consequences of this disease," López said.
The campaign, he explained, consists of informative talks and visual health days.
"Each activity is accompanied by ophthalmological valuations (eye exam) to attendees, in order to detect possible retinal injuries due to diabetes," López said.
If some injury is detected, or bleeding due to the rupture of a capillary, the patient is explained to the treatment options so that it is in a position to make informed decisions in relation to their visual health.
Valenzuela said that with proper treatment "it is possible to stop the development of retinopathy, which is one of the most frequent complications in people who do not have controlled their diabetes."
Finally, he reiterated that this disease is asymptomatic, "so it is necessary that all diabetic patients perform an ophthalmological examination every six months, in order to timely detect the presence of this condition."
