Eye-care must for diabetics

allahabad: associate professor of ophthalmology in mln medical college, dr kamaljeet singh has advised diabetic patients to take care of their eyes by getting them checked regularly by an ophthalmologist. talking to this newspaper, singh said that there were three types of eye diseases which may commonly crop up in diabetics: cataract, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.if not detected early, these diseases might cause irreversible damage to the eyes, he warned. cataract is a common ailment which may occur quite early in diabetics, especially those who have an irregular control of diabetes - in the sense that their blood sugar level goes higher on one day and lowers suddenly on another day. diabetic cataract causes gradual decline of vision and multiple images of black spots in front of the eyes. management of cataract is slightly tricky in diabetics as diabetes should be absolutely in control. surgery of the cataract should usually be delayed as far as possible, in such circumstances. glaucoma, locally known as `samalbai', is another disease which is more commonly present in diabetics. there are two kinds of glaucoma. one, that starts with a lot of pain and redness in the eyes, while the other is usually symptomless as pain does not occur. this type is called chronic simple glaucoma. the vision here gradually reduces without any symptoms whatsoever. regarding diabetic retinopathy, singh said it might begin even if it was not present before the surgery. progression of diabetic retinopathy to a more severe degree may occur, if it is already present. the eye has got a wall of three layers. the innermost layer retina is the most sensitive for the quality of vision. so, retinal involvement in diabetics is known as diabetic retinopathy. in this disease lots of small haemorrhages and white deposits come up on the surface of retina. the problem is quite serious, in the sense that, whatever vision is lost can not be reversed. diabetic retinopathy has become more prevalent now. it is said that after twenty years of diabetes, retinopathy may occur in about 60 to 80 per cent patients.