Thousands of Cape Townians joined the Global Diabetes Run/Walk on Saturday, November 19, to raise awareness for diabetes, which has been recognised by the United Nations as one of the world’s most severe health risks.  Amongst the people attending the event was Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia De Lille and Professor Tim Noakes. 

Jonga Trust was also present, manning a booth with Lions District 410A.  During the day, Jonga Eye Care Workers screened the eyes of 428 people looking for any visual defects and signs of diabetes in the eye. One of the highlights for the Jonga Eye Care Workers was when they screened the eyes of Mayor Patricia Di Lille, who took the time out to visit the booth and learn more about what Jonga Trust was doing. We were happy to report to her that on the day, 14 pairs of reading glasses were issued and 278 people were referred to local Optometrists and Eye care centres for further eye tests.

The Run/Walk event organized by Diabetes SA, gave Jonga Trust a wonderful opportunity to educate the public about the dangers of uncontrolled diabetes and how it effects the eye.  Around the world it has been shown that patient education and motivation reduces the cost of diabetes care as well as reducing the risk of serious diabetes-related complications. Research shows that approximately 4-6 million people in South Africa have diabetes and that 1 out of 4 of these people are not aware that they have the condition. One of the mayor risk factors of uncontrolled diabetes is diabetic eye disease.  According to the American Optometric Association diabetes is the number one cause of acquired blindness in the United States.

Diabetic eye disease may include:

• Diabetic retinopathy—damage to the blood vessels in the retina.
• Cataract—clouding of the eye's lens. Cataracts develop at an earlier age in people with diabetes.
• Glaucoma—increase in fluid pressure inside the eye that leads to optic nerve damage and loss of vision. A person with diabetes is nearly twice as likely to get glaucoma as other adults. .

Unfortunately when a person with diabetes notices any visual defects, damage could already occurred as often there are no symptoms in the early stages of the disease, nor is there any pain. It is therefore important that a person with diabetes do not wait for symptoms before seeking an eye test. 

If you have diabetes it is vital to have a comprehensive dilated eye exam at least once a year and to remember:

• Proliferative retinopathy can develop without symptoms. At this advanced stage, you are at high risk for vision loss.
• Macular oedema can develop without symptoms at any of the four stages of diabetic retinopathy.
• You can develop both proliferative retinopathy and macular oedema and still see fine. However, you are at high risk for vision loss.
• Your eye care professional can tell if you have macular oedema or any stage of diabetic retinopathy. Whether or not you have symptoms, early detection and timely treatment can prevent vision loss.

If you have diabetic retinopathy, you may need an eye exam more often than once a year. People with proliferative retinopathy can reduce their risk of blindness by 95 percent with timely treatment and appropriate follow-up care.

It is important for people living with diabetes to understand that the disease can be life threatening if not managed correctly.  As the slogan for the Run/Walk day said “Understand Diabetes and Take Control”