November is Diabetic Eye Disease Awareness Month

Diabetes is a complex disease with multiple challenges that result as the disease progresses. One of the known complexities is the impact on vision and the eyes of individuals with advancing diabetes. Diabetes-related retinopathy damages the blood vessels that support the eye and causing bleeding in the retina. The complexities that result may lead to fluid leakage in the macula causing blurred vision, a condition known as macular edema. Other known complexities include cataracts (clouding of the lens which results in blurry and dulled vision) and glaucoma (damage to the optic nerve and the loss of side vision from fluid buildup in the eye). The complexities of managing diabetes and the aging process with vision loss to blindness increase challenges for adherence to medical recommendations and independent living.

For more information, check out PreventBlindness.org

August is Gastroparesis Awareness Month

Gastroparesis is a condition which affects the muscles of your stomach. Essentially, the muscles stop moving and thus restrict the passage of food. This condition results in symptoms of nausea, vomiting, bloating, and abdominal pain. The muscles in your stomach will change with age. However, paresis is rare and suggests other complications (McCallum et al., 2021). The most common causes are diabetes, may result after surgery, taking certain medications – such as opioid pain relievers, antidepressants, hypertension medications and allergy medications (mayoclinic.org). Management will involve changes to diet to minimize complication risk (McCallum et al., 2021). Complications may include severe dehydration, malnutrition, undigested food which hardens and remains in the stomach, known as bezoars, unpredictable blood sugar changes, and decreased quality of life (mayoclinic.org).

Resources:

mayoclinic.org/disease-conditions/gastroparesis/symptoms-causes/

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30192-7_41