BLINDNESS AND DIABETES

Sorry it's another downer topic. But then diabetes is a downer thing altogether.


(1)

Diabetic eye disease, caused by diabetes, is a leading cause of blindness and vision loss. Diabetic eye disease refers to a group of eye problems that people with diabetes may face as a complication of this disease. All can cause severe vision loss or even blindness.

Diabetic eye disease may include:

<>Diabetic retinopathy -- damage to the blood vessels in the retina.

<>Cataract -- clouding of the eye's lens.

<>Glaucoma -- increase in fluid pressure inside the eye that leads to optic nerve damage and loss of vision

To bring this home I want to assure you that only having had diabetes a short time does not mean one is immune to diabetic catastrophe. I have had my eyes examined and have no retonopathy yet, My eye doc said that the times my vision was blurry wasa the times my blood glucose was very high. Now that I have managed to control my blood glucose, I no longer worry so much about my eyes. Oh and btw my control is by diet and exercise I take very little insulin.


(2)

Diabetic retinopathy is progressive damage to the eye's retina caused by long-term diabetes. It can cause blindness.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors Return to top

Diabetic retinopathy is caused by damage to blood vessels of the retina, the light-sensitive outer layer of the eye. It is classified as non-proliferative or proliferative.

Non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy is the early stage of the disease and is less severe. The existing blood vessels in the eye start to leak fluid into the retina, which leads to blurred vision.
Proliferative retinopathy is the more advanced form of the disease, and more severe. New blood vessels start to grown within the eye. These new vessels are fragile and can bleed (hemorrhage), which may cause vision loss and retinal scarring.
Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working-age Americans. People with both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes are at risk for this condition.

The likelihood and severity of retinopathy increase the longer you have diabetes, and is likely to occur earlier and be more severe if your diabetes is poorly controlled. Almost everyone who has had diabetes for more than 30 years will show signs of diabetic retinopathy.

Symptoms Return to top

One of the first symptoms of diabetic retinopathy is poor night vision. Other symptoms include:

"Floaters" (spots in front of one's eyes)
Blurred vision
Blindness
However, many people have no symptoms before major bleeding occurs in the eye. This is why everyone with diabetes should have regular eye exams.

(3)

Diabetes causes damage to the small blood vessels that nourish the retina, the seeing part at the back of the eye. In people with diabetes the retinal blood vessels may expand and leak fluid. This is an early form of diabetic retinopathy called nonproliferative or background retinopathy. You may not notice any change in your vision when you develop this early form of the disease, but it can lead to other more serious forms of retinopathy that affect your vision.

When fluid collects in the macula (the part of the retina that allows us to see fine details), reading and other close work may become difficult. This is called macular edema.

In other people fragile new blood vessels may grow on the surface of the retina. This is termed proliferative retinopathy. These new blood vessels can lead to serious vision problems, because they can break and bleed into the vitreous. (The vitreous is the clear, jelly-like substance that fills the center of the eye.) When the vitreous becomes clouded with blood, light is prevented from passing through the eye to the retina. This causes sudden loss of vision.

SOLUTIONS?

<>To keep the blood sugar at low normal levels, not so much by using lots of insulin but by controlling eating and getting lots of exercise.

<>Get regular eye exams to know how well you are doing towards keeping your vision healthy.

and to keep those tiny capillaries free flowing to contnue to nourish the delicate eyes take bilberry
.



Bilberry (Vaccinum myrtillus) is a European berry shrub very similar to the blueberry or huckleberry found in the United States. Like most herbal supplements, the use of Bilberry goes back centuries with medicinal usage recorded as early as the beginning of the 16th century. It’s primary usage then was to treat diarrhea and stomach problems. Bilberry’s modern usage began in earnest during World War II. The story is told that British and U. S. pilots began eating bilberries as part of their diet. They soon discovered a marked improvement in their night vision as they flew missions over Europe.

Since then extensive research has identified the specific vital ingredients in Bilberry and verified their beneficial actions for the eyes and circulatory system. Bilberry is high in a substance called flavonoids, chemically known as polyphenols. Bilberry’s flavonoids are anthocyanosides that enhance microcirculation throughout the body. Research has shown this effect to be particularly noticeable in the delicate blood vessels supplying the retina of the eye. The retina is where the major functions of vision occur.

As a supplement, Bilberry plays an important role in improving and maintaining eye health. Bilberry is a common treatment for many varieties of retinopathy, a disorder in which the intricate blood vessels and nerves of the retina are damaged. In France, bilberries have been prescribed since 1945 for diabetic retinopathy, a major cause of blindness in diabetics.

Numerous studies have documented Bilberry’s usefulness as a medicinal herb. One study concluded that bilberry extract used in conjunction with Vitamin E prevented the progression of cataracts in 48 of 50 patients suffering from cataracts. In an Italian study, bilberry’s flavonoids lowered cholesterol levels and improved circulation. Bilberry has been used in treatments for glaucoma, macular degeneration, eye fatigue, poor night vision and nearsightedness.

Our Standardized Bilberry Extract is meticulously manufactured under strict European quality control standards without the use of harsh solvents. It is extracted to provide an optimal level of 25% naturally occurring anthocyanidins. Additionally, it contains a full spectrum of components as they occur naturally in fresh whole bilberries. Red Grape Skin Extract and Citrus Bioflavonoids work synergistically to enhance the proven benefits of Bilberry Extract.

The absoilute best way to protect your blood pressure, kidneys and eyesight from diabetic damage is to reverse the diabetes. I'm using cell power
to great effect~ it REALLY WORKS for reversing diabetes and blood pressure too, in addition to regulating my pH so my body will be in a healthy state. I've had a lot of success with this and it's helped me tremendously in so many ways including giving me healthier teeth and gums, My teeth are whiter and gums are firmer and healthier, is it the cell power[tm]? I believe it is.

And of course I'm still taking coconut oil

to help my alkalizing and weight loss.

I wish you and yours the very best of health and I remember today is the first day of the rest of your life, make it coumnt, do something healthy for you!

write to me at Webriter@verizon.net or use the comment or chat features.
Christian Biblical stories
Natural herbal remedies
blessings

Please check out what's happening at:Mercola.com

~~And NOW the Jokes!~~~
very punny
1) King Ozymandias of Assyria was running low on cash after years of war with the Hittites. His last great possession was the Star of the Euphrates, the most valuable diamond in the ancient world. Desperate, he went to Croesus, the pawnbroker, to ask for a loan. Croesus said, "I'll give you 100,000 dinars for it". "But I paid a million dinars for it", the King protested. "Don't you know who I am? I am the king!" Croesus replied, "When you wish to pawn a Star, makes no difference who you are".

2) Evidence has been found that William Tell and his family were avid bowlers. Unfortunately, all the Swiss league records were destroyed in a fire, and so we'll never know for whom the Tells bowled.

3) A man rushed into a busy doctor's office and shouted, "Doctor! I think I'm shrinking!!". The doctor calmly responded, "Now, settle down. You'll just have to be a little patient".

4) A marine biologist developed a race of genetically engineered dolphins that could live forever if they were fed a steady diet of
seagulls. One day his supply of the birds ran out so he had to go out and trap some more. On the way back, he spied two lions asleep on the road. Afraid to wake them, he gingerly stepped over them. Immediately, he was arrested and charged with transporting gulls across sedate lions for immortal porpoises.

5) Back in the 1800's the Tates Watch Company of Massachusetts wanted to produce other products, and since they already made the cases for watches, they used them to produce compasses. The new compasses were so bad that people often ended up in Canada or Mexico rather than California. This, of course, is the origin of the expression, "He who has a Tates is lost!"

6) A thief broke into the local police station and stole all the toilets and urinals, leaving no clues. A spokesperson was quoted as saying, "We have absolutely nothing to go on".

7) An Indian chief was feeling very sick, so he summoned the medicine man. After a brief examination, the medicine man took out a long, thin strip of elk rawhide and gave it to the chief, telling him to bite off, chew, and swallow one inch of the leather every day. After a month, the medicine man returned to see how the chief was feeling. The chief shrugged and said, "The thong is ended, but the malady lingers on".

8 ) A famous Viking explorer returned home from a voyage and found his name missing from the town register. His wife insisted on complaining to the local civic official who apologized profusely saying, "I must have taken Leif off my census".

9) There were three Indian squaws. One slept on a deer skin, one slept on an elk skin, and the third slept on a hippopotamus skin. All three became pregnant, and the first two each had a baby boy. The one who slept on the hippopotamus skin had twin boys. This just goes to prove that the squaw of the hippopotamus is equal to the sons of the squaws of the other two hides.

10) A skeptical anthropologist was cataloging South American folk remedies with the assistance of a tribal brujo who indicated that the leaves of a particular fern were a sure cure for any case of constipation. When the anthropologist expressed his doubts, the brujo looked him in the eye and said, "Let me tell you, with fronds like these, who needs enemas?"

~~~

Just in case you need a laugh: Remember it takes a college degree to fly a plane but only a high school diploma to fix one.

After every flight, Qantas pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet," which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.

Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by Qantas' pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers.

By the way, Qantas is the only major airline that has never, ever, had an accident.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what friction locks are for.

P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.

God bless I hope to see you again tomorrow.

SOURCE
(1)THE VISION AND LEARNING CENTER/DIABETES AND YOUR EYES
http://www.preventblindness.org/diabetes/patcommunity/diabetes_youreyes.htm
(2)medline plus/Diabetic retinopathy
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001212.htm#Causes,%20incidence,%20and%20risk%20factors
(3)Centre for Eye Research Australia
http://cera.unimelb.edu.au/eyehealth/dr.html