Join the fight to STOP DIABETES

Posted on November 2nd, 2009 by Liz B. |

Liz is a member of VSP's Corporate Public Relations team.

Liz B. is a member of VSP's Corporate Public Relations team.

November is Diabetes Awareness Month and as a National Strategic Partner of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), VSP is committed to joining to the fight to STOP DIABETES.

Studies show that diabetes accounts for about 24,000 new cases of vision loss each year. The most prevalent eye disease in patients with diabetes is diabetic retinopathy, a condition in which blood vessels in the eye leak fluid and cause vision impairments including: blindness, blurred vision, floaters, shadows or missing areas of vision.

It is imperative that people with diabetes have annual eye exams as most diabetes-related blindness can be avoided.

Throughout the month of November, you’ll see multiple posts on the VSPBlog educating about the impacts of diabetes to millions of Americans affected by the disease.

Let’s start with the basics on why we must stop diabetes:

Nearly 24 million children and adults in the United States live with diabetes. In fact, if trends continue, one in three children born today will face a future with diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes – For people with type 1 diabetes, their bodies cannot make insulin, the hormone that allows the cells in the body to admit glucose, which they use as fuel. Without glucose, your body doesn’t have enough energy to live. That’s why people with type 1 diabetes must take daily insulin (through a shot or pump) to stay alive.
Type 2 Diabetes – People with type 2 diabetes can make insulin, but the body fails to use it properly. About 90-95 percent of people with diabetes have type 2. Typically type 2 of diabetes affects adults, but as obesity rates have increased in kids, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes continues to rise in kids and teens.