The ambitious campaign to eliminate Diabetic Retinopathy from Jharkhand organised by the Kashyap Memorial Eye Hospital in association with Women Doctors’ Wing of IMA, Jharkhand and All India Ophthalmological Society had its two day camp at KMEH on November 16 and 17 in Ranchi.
The two-day camp was part of an endeavour of the campaign and research project – Diabetes Eye Screening – aimed at curbing blindness due to Diabetic Retinopathy, which affects every one out of eight persons in rural areas and one out of five in the urban centers, especially those belonging to the age group of more than 35 years.
The diabetes eye screening camp was organised at the KMEH, where 140 patients were checked free of cost. Apart from retinal screening, the patients were also checked for blood sugar and blood pressure levels. Also, those patients, who needed specific tests like angiography and OCT, were given 30 per cent rebate in the test charges.
Some of the shocking facts and figures also came out of the camp including the number of patients who do not take medicines despite being diabetic. Out of 140 patients 35 percent did not take medicines despite being diabetic.
According to an estimate, India has about 67 million pre-diabetic persons, out of which 60 per cent people can be saved from being diabetic just by proper diet, exercise, and weight-loss. Another fact entails that the number of diabetic people in the country would grow to over 10 crore by 2030. Medical researchers say about seven crore people in the country are diabetic and half of them are women. Also, 19 per cent people had diabetic macular edema and 11.4 per cent had proliferative diabetic retinopathy.
Talking about the camp, president of Women Doctors’ Wing IMA, Jharkhand, Dr. Bharti Kashyap said that a large number of people were still unaware of what diabetic retinopathy can do to them. “It’s a very serious disease that may lead to blindness if not cured and is very common in those people having uncontrolled blood sugar levels. We are trying our best to spread awareness about the disease by organising regular camps,” she said.
Mention, a special camp KMEH had been organised with JIASOWA in 2009, Dr Kashyap added that they had treated 20 poor patients suffering from diabetic retinopathy with laser treatment and Costly Intravitreal Avastin injections.
“We had targeted Diabetic population in slum areas. We can also extend such projects and organise more such camps given that people or organisations from the civic society come forward to lend us a helping hand. Sometimes, we could not extend our reach to help the needy persons due to lack of resources. If we get assistance from organisations, civic society, we will help more people who need us the most but cannot afford treatment due to poverty,” he added.