Diabetes-The Eye-Catching Agony

Veteran Mumbai-based ophthalmologist Dr.Himanshu Mehta highlights the alarming ill-effects of diabetes on eye-health.

- SMITA IYENGAR

It's no coincidence. Both words 'Diablo' (devil in Spanish) and 'Diabetes' share the same first four letters! Known as India's 'national disease', it affects millions across the country with debilitating consequences.

Plain and simple...the bitterest thing in the world is sugar. For those who inherit the legendary Indian sweet tooth, the eventualdespair of replacing sumptuous sweets with bitter medicines can be poetically summed-up. “Yeh zeher ki sheerini o shakkar ki talkhi kya hai? Ilahi yeh gham e zindagi ki shokhi kya hai?”-Lo! What, the sweetness of poison and the bitterness of sugar is? Oh Lord, what, the pain of life's humour is?

On a serious note, “Diabetes is the world's sweetest terrorist. You live with it, nurture it as it sweetly and steadily destroys every organ of your body”, says acclaimedMumbai-based opthalmologist Dr.Himanshu Mehta who has famously treated numerous Bollywood personalities as a part of over 50,000 eye surgeries to his credit. His The Vision Eye Centerat Mumbai's seaside Juhu area is renowned for being exceptionally equipped and advanced.

Dr.Mehtabelieves that in case of a family history, monitoring sugar levels must begin right at childhood. “Diabetes can strike early in life. Usually, it is believed to happen after forty which is generally non-insulin dependent (Type 2) and can be controlled with tablets”, he explains. If one is diagnosed, yearly eye-checkups for the first five years, according to him, are vital. “After five years, the frequency of should ideally be once in six months”, he adds.

EYE ORDEALS

Diabetes notoriously induces early cataract. With a massive young Indian diabetic population, many as early as in their in late forties get operated for the condition which is usually associated with aging.