Fijians as young as 22 years are going blind.
The Pacific Eye Institute revealed this as it sounded a warning on how NCDs were now the single biggest challenge facing eye care in Fiji.
Institute country manager Kirti Prasad said more and more people were coming in with end-stage diabetes retinopathy because many of these diabetes patients were not aware they needed to continue to get their vision checked.
“And by the time they get blind, it’s too late,” Ms Prasad told The Fiji Times.
“And what we are seeing is that there are more and more younger people coming in with end stage diabetes, which means a 22-year-old coming through the door is already blind due to diabetes.
“NCD is a huge, huge burden on the eye care services.”
Ms Prasad said one misconception is that diabetes only affects body limbs, such as a person’s arms or legs.
“Diabetes affects all your organs – eyes, kidney, your skin, your nervous system, a whole lot of things.
“If there’s an increase in sugar throughout a long period of time, then the person’s nerves burst, and they start hemorrhaging inside the eye.
“That’s when you get blind.”
Ms Prasad said the problem was partly due to poor health-seeking behaviour and reliance on herbal remedies.
“The first thing many people do when they’re losing vision is turn to herbs.
“By the time they come to us, the damage has already been done.”
She said the institute’s message to the public is simple: if you have diabetes, get your eyes checked at least once a year.
“Once you lose your sight, that’s it – you don’t get it back.
“This is a tsunami of NCDs sweeping across the Pacific, and unless people change their habits, the problem will only grow.”
