DIABETES: SEEING SOME PROBLEMS
Beware of Vision Trouble
Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness among adults 40 years or older. It affects about 5.5 million Americans, a number the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects will rise to 16 million by 2050. Diabetes can damage blood vessels in the retina when fluctuating blood-sugar levels are not controlled. "People with diabetes also have a higher prevalence of other eye diseases, such as cataracts and glaucoma, than the general population," the researchers write in Archives of Ophthalmology.
Signs that you may be headed for vision trouble, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), include:
Blurred or double vision
Pain in one or both eyes
Difficulty reading
Persistent redness of the eyes
Difficulty seeing things that are not straight ahead
A sensation of pressure in one or both eyes
Seeing spots or floaters
Seeing double
If your diabetes treatment plan includes insulin, take steps to be sure the insulin is fully effective. ADA recommendations include:
Check the color and consistency before you use it.
Rapid- and short-acting insulin should be clear.
Intermediate- and long-acting insulin should be cloudy.
Do not use if there are large clumps floating in it.
Never use insulin that has expired.
You can keep your current supply at room temperature (no higher than 86 degrees F.) for up to a month.
Refrigerate insulin that won't be used in less than a month. But don't freeze it: insulin clumps at temperatures below 36 degrees F.