Lions hold free screening sessions for diabetes

Anyone who would like to be tested can drop in at the former Oxfam shop at 45 Regent Street between 10am and 4pm where the screening will be carried out by a specialist diabetes nurse.

Lions World Sight Day is a global initiative sponsored by Lions Clubs International and has been held annually for the past six years on the second Thursday in October to raise awareness about sight-related issues.

Diabetic eye disease is a general term for the visual complications that result from diabetes, which can cause severe vision loss and even blindness. The most common eye disease is diabetic retinopathy which is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina “Nearly half of all people with diabetes will develop some degree of diabetic retinopathy during their lifetimes,” said Swindon Lion Helen Marson who is urging people to go along and be checked out today.

“The early stages of the disease are usually painless and don’t affect vision,” she said.

“But when the disease progresses, the macula, the part of the retina that provides sharp, central vision, swells from leaking fluid this is called macular edema and can cause blurred vision.

“If new blood vessels have grown on the surface of the retina, they can bleed into the eye, blocking vision.

“Even in the most advanced cases, the disease may progress a long way without symptoms.”

Swindon Lion Stephen Austin said about 80 or 90 people usually drop in to be tested on World Sight Day.

“It’s a simple blood test that only takes a few seconds and we can alert people quickly if they look like being at risk so they can then go off to their GP and take it further.” he said.

“In most cases the majority of people will be perfectly all right, but if we pick up a risk for just one or two people it is worth it.”

Diabetic retinopathy cannot be cured but laser surgery can prevent vision loss if treatment is carried out before the retina is severely damaged so it is vital to catch it early.”