Doctors advise diabetic patients over blood glucose monitoring

Hong Kong has approximately 700,000 diabetes patients. Many of them suffer permanent vision loss, due to inadequate glucose control and neglect of regular eye-checks. Doctors are advising diabetic patients to adhere to blood glucose monitoring and comprehensive eye examinations.

Diabetic eye disease primarily affects the retina. In early stages, the condition is often entirely asymptomatic. However, once patients begin to experience visual distortion or see dark spots, it has typically progressed to a moderate or advanced stage. Once diagnosed, doctors recommend three distinct check-ups each year.

Doctors usually undertake detailed dilatation fundus examination, which involves checking the retinal periphery, optic nerve, and the macula lutea. In mild cases, bleeding occurs at first. Using AI to analyse fundus photographs offers the benefit of delivering results in 10 seconds. For patient suffering form macular oedema, OCT scans are performed for further assessment.

Ah Bao, who is around 30 years-old, has been suffering from obesity since childhood, along with high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol. Due to diabetic eye disease, his left eye is now completely blind. He can barely see anything with his right eye unless in bright environments. It is also hard for him to distinguish colours.

Doctors indicate that diabetic eye disease often occurs simultaneously with diabetic kidney disease. Before Ah Bao was diagnosed, he frequently experienced symptoms such as thirst, fatigue, and excessive sweating.

Complications of diabetes could also affect the blood vessels throughout the body, especially when combined with high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Doctors warn that having a family history of diabetes, or unhealthy diet and lifestyle, can all increase the risk of developing diabetic eye disease. For people with diabetes, it is even more important to undergo a full check-up for complications annually.