Learning more about eye disease

In February, Dr. Snyder and our staff traveled to Austin and took part in the TOA (Texas Optometric Association) conference. Offices from all over the state of Texas were in attendance. Our staff attended many educational and informative classes; we are so excited to apply this new information to our office.  A wide variety of optometric topics were covered including interesting statistics about eye disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.  We look forward to continuing to provide you with the best eye care possible.

Nearly 79 million people in the United States have pre-diabetes and 93% of those people do not even know they have it!  The CDC projects that 1 in 3 American adults will have diabetes in 2050. Bad news:  People with diabetes are 25 times more likely to become blind than the general population.  Good news: 90% of diabetic eye disease can be prevented by simply having proper examinations, treatment and controlling blood sugar.  There are several prevention tips:

-Research shows that you can lower your risk for type 2 diabetes by 58% by losing 7% of your body weight

-Brisk walking for 30 minutes per day, five days a week

 

Close to 3 million Americans have glaucoma today and nearly HALF of them don’t even know they have it.  This number is projected to increase to 3.5 million by 2020.  Glaucoma is the 2nd leading cause of blindness in the U.S.  Vision loss often occurs before individuals are even diagnosed and is permanent.  The vision loss cannot be reversed, but it can be controlled if treated early.

If you have any questions or concerns about eye disease, give us a call to set up an appointment!