In this important and thoughtful article, a group of eye doctors ban together to urge us all to take care of our most precious sense: our sight. The message is especially important for diabetics to heed.

There is a growing epidemic of diabetes across the country that concerns us greatly. Almost 21 million people in the United States have diabetes and over 6 million of those are undiagnosed. Additionally, an estimated 54 million Americans aged 40 to 74 have pre-diabetes, a condition that puts them at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Why would we, as eye doctors be concerned that you may have diabetes? It is because diabetes is the number one cause of acquired blindness. It is the most significant cause of visual impairment for those of working age. People with diabetes have 50-80 times elevated risk for legal blindness over their lifetimes, compared with people without the disease!

Individuals who are at high risk for diabetes need to have regular, dilated eye exams and all individuals with known diabetes need to have dilated eye exams each year. You should consider an eye exam as the first line of detection for this serious disease and its complications. Fortunately, in nearly all cases, diabetic retinopathy, a potentially blinding complication of diabetes and sometimes the very first sign of diabetes, can be diagnosed during a dilated eye exam in which drops are put into the eyes.

It's shocking that diabetics can have 80 times the risk of becoming blind than their non-diabetic counterparts. Luckily, treatment is available if caught soon enough. Please be sure to read this article!