As part of National Diabetes Month in November, the federal government’s National Eye Institute and the South Carolina Society of Ophthalmology are continuing their efforts to focus upon the importance of yearly dilated eye exams for people with diabetes. These efforts are part of an ongoing campaign called “Don’t Lose Sight of Diabetic Eye Disease,” sponsored by the National Eye Health Education Program Partnership.

Diabetic eye disease can be detected through a dilated eye examination, which is recommended at least once a year. If discovered in time, severe vision loss or blindness can be prevented.

“During their lifetime, nearly half of the nation’s estimated 16 million people with diabetes will develop some degree of diabetic retinopathy, the most common form of diabetic eye disease,” said Lowrey King, M.D., of the South Carolina Society of Ophthalmology and the Storm Eye Institute. “Diabetic retinopathy damages the tiny blood vessels in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. As many as 25,000 people annually go blind from the disorder, making it a leading cause of blindness among working -age Americans. More than 90 percent of the cases of blindness can be prevented with early detection and timely treatment.”

King said it is important for people to understand the need for regular dilated eye exams before any vision is lost. Usually, diabetic retinopathy has no early symptoms and visual impairment does not develop until the disease has advanced into its later stages. At this point, vision loss cannot be restored.

“We want to make this information common knowledge among people with diabetes so that they will realize that eye disease is a possible complication of diabetes,” said Carolyn Cavanaugh, director, Education Programs for the South Carolina Society of Ophthalmology. “We need to convey the message that they can prevent vision loss by getting annual dilated eye exams.”

Virtually all people who have had Type 1 diabetes for at least 15 years have some degree of diabetic retinopathy. Those who have had Type 2 diabetes for five to 10 years have about a 2 percent incidence rate, whereas the rate increases to more than 50 percent for those who have had Type 2 diabetes for more than 20 years. People with diabetes also are nearly twice as likely to get glaucoma or cataracts as people without diabetes.

“As science moves in its study of diabetic eye disease, it is likely that new treatments will result from laboratory and patient-oriented research,” said Dr. Carl Kupfer, director of National Eye Institute, part of the federal government’s National Institutes of Health. “Improved treatment, coupled with heightened public awareness, should go far toward reducing diabetic eye disease as a national health problem.” Kupfer pointed out that “even with effective treatment for diabetic retinopathy, eye care professionals are only seeing half of the people at risk for this disease.” The National Eye Institute is supporting a number of research studies to learn what causes diabetic retinopathy and how it can be better treated.

A free brochure, “Don’t Lose Sight of Diabetic Eye Disease,” is available by calling Carolyn Cavanaugh, R.N., patient educator, MUSC Storm Eye Institute, 792-4735.

A free screening for diabetic retinopathy will be held at the Storm Eye Institute on Friday, Nov. 20, between 1 and 4 p.m. To make an appointment for the screening, call 792-1414.