Description

Optometrists are very important players in the diabetes care team. They can be very useful as detectors, and onward referrers for treatment, of sight threatening diabetic retinopathy. But they can be absolutely invaluable if they recognise and utilise their opportunity to observe directly the tissue consequences of diabetes. For diabetes is a systemic disease in which a great diversity of tissues are damaged simultaneously by similar exposure to high levels of glucose, blood pressure and lipids. The diabetic patient with retinopathy will have damage elsewhere. It may be nerve, kidney, heart, circulation or soft tissue damage or some combination of these. Patients with complications can still benefit from improved glucose and blood pressure control. By understanding this the optometrist can both comprehend the visible problems exhibited by the people they are examining and contribute to the team effort necessary if the risk of further, more serious, disease is to be minimised.