Focal laser treatment is usually done in your doctor's office or eye clinic in a single session. If you had blurred vision from macular edema before surgery, the treatment might not return your vision to normal, but it's likely to reduce the chance of the macular edema worsening. Panretinal photocoagulation.

This laser treatment, also known as scatter laser treatment, can shrink the abnormal blood vessels. During the procedure, the areas of the retina away from the macula are treated with scattered laser burns. The burns cause the abnormal new blood vessels to shrink and scar.

It's usually done in your doctor's office or eye clinic in two or more sessions. Your vision will be blurry for about a day after the procedure. Some loss of peripheral vision or night vision after the procedure is possible. While treatment can slow or stop the progression of diabetic retinopathy, it's not a cure.

Because diabetes is a lifelong condition, future retinal damage and vision loss are still possible. Even after treatment for diabetic retinopathy, you'll need regular eye exams.

At some point, you might need additional treatment. Explore Mayo Clinic studies testing new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition.

Several alternative therapies have suggested some benefits for people with diabetic retinopathy, but more research is needed to understand whether these treatments are effective and safe.

Let your doctor know if you take herbs or supplements. They can interact with other medications or cause complications in surgery, such as excessive bleeding. It's vital not to delay standard treatments to try unproven therapies. Early treatment is the best way to prevent vision loss.

The thought that you might lose your sight can be frightening, and you may benefit from talking to a therapist or finding a support group. Ask your doctor for referrals. If you've already lost vision, ask your doctor about low-vision products, such as magnifiers, and services that can make daily living easier.

The American Diabetes Association ADA recommends that people with type 1 diabetes have an eye exam within five years of being diagnosed. If you have type 2 diabetes, the American Diabetes Association ADA advises getting your initial eye exam at the time of your diagnosis. If there's no evidence of retinopathy on your initial exam, the ADA recommends that people with diabetes get dilated and comprehensive eye exams at least every two years.

If you have any level of retinopathy, you'll need eye exams at least annually. Ask your eye doctor what he or she recommends. The ADA recommends that women with diabetes have an eye exam before becoming pregnant or during the first trimester of pregnancy and be closely followed during the pregnancy and up to one year after giving birth.

Pregnancy can sometimes cause diabetic retinopathy to develop or worsen. On this page. Alternative medicine. Coping and support.

Preparing for your appointment. Fluorescein angiography After your eyes are dilated, a dye is injected into a vein in your arm.

Optical coherence tomography OCT With this test, pictures provide cross-sectional images of the retina that show the thickness of the retina.

Early diabetic retinopathy If you have mild or moderate nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, you might not need treatment right away.

Advanced diabetic retinopathy If you have proliferative diabetic retinopathy or macular edema, you'll need prompt treatment. Depending on the specific problems with your retina, options might include: Injecting medications into the eye. This procedure uses a tiny incision in your eye to remove blood from the middle of the eye vitreous as well as scar tissue that's tugging on the retina.

It's done in a surgery center or hospital using local or general anesthesia. Request an appointment. More Information.

Can medicine help prevent diabetic macular edema? Clinical trials. Here's some information to help you get ready for your eye appointment. What you can do Write a brief summary of your diabetes history, including when you were diagnosed; medications you have taken for diabetes, now and in the past; recent average blood sugar levels; and your last few hemoglobin A1C readings, if you know them.

List all medications, vitamins and other supplements you take, including dosages. List your symptoms, if any. Include those that may seem unrelated to your eyes.

Ask a family member or friend to go with you, if possible. Someone who accompanies you can help remember the information you receive.

Also, because your eyes will be dilated, a companion can drive you home. List questions for your doctor. For diabetic retinopathy, questions to ask your doctor include: How is diabetes affecting my vision?

This topic last updated: Jan 04, Several preventive and therapeutic interventions have been evaluated in an attempt to minimize the morbidity associated with diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema DME , which can occur at any stage or severity of diabetic retinopathy [ 4 ].

To continue reading this article, you must sign in with your personal, hospital, or group practice subscription. Subscribe Sign in. It does NOT include all information about conditions, treatments, medications, side effects, or risks that may apply to a specific patient.

It is not intended to be medical advice or a substitute for the medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment of a health care provider based on the health care provider's examination and assessment of a patient's specific and unique circumstances.

Patients must speak with a health care provider for complete information about their health, medical questions, and treatment options, including any risks or benefits regarding use of medications.

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All rights reserved. Topic Feedback. Ophthalmologic examination schedule Classification of diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema. Ophthalmologic examination schedule. Talk to your eye doctor about what choices are best for you.

Eye problems are common in people with diabetes, but treatments can be very effective. Only your eye doctor can diagnose eye diseases, so make sure to get a dilated eye exam at least once a year. The earlier eye problems are found and treated, the better for your eyesight.

Skip directly to site content Skip directly to search. Español Other Languages. Diabetes and Vision Loss Español Spanish Print. Minus Related Pages. Get a dilated eye exam at least once a year to protect your eyesight.

Risk Factors for Diabetic Retinopathy Anyone with type 1 , type 2 , or gestational diabetes diabetes while pregnant can develop diabetic retinopathy. These factors can also increase your risk: Blood sugar , blood pressure, and cholesterol levels that are too high. Help for Low Vision. Symptoms in the advanced stage can include: Blurry vision Spots or dark shapes in your vision floaters Trouble seeing colors Dark or empty areas in your vision Vision loss How Diabetic Retinopathy Is Diagnosed During your eye exam, your eye doctor will check how well you see the details of letters or symbols from a distance.

Changes may include: Blurring Spots Flashes Blind spots Distortion Difficulty reading or doing detail work. Diabetic Retinopathy Treatment Treating diabetic retinopathy can repair damage to the eye and even prevent blindness in most people.

Options include: Laser therapy also called laser photocoagulation. This creates a barrier of scar tissue that slows the growth of new blood vessels.

Medicines called VEGF inhibitors, which can slow down or reverse diabetic retinopathy. Removing all or part of the vitreous vitrectomy. Reattachment of the retina for retinal detachment, a complication of diabetic retinopathy. Injection of medicines called corticosteroids.

Other Eye Diseases. Keep your blood sugar levels in your target range as much as possible. Over time, high blood sugar not only damages blood vessels in your eyes, it can also affect the shape of your lenses and make your vision blurry. Keep your blood pressure and cholesterol levels in your target range to lower your risk for eye diseases and vision loss.

Also good for your health in general! Quit smoking. Quitting lowers your risk for diabetes-related eye diseases and improves your health in many other ways too.

The risk of vision loss can be greatly reduced with regular checks. Remember, you may not be aware of changes to your vision and many problems can be treated when caught early. Diabetic retinopathy can worsen in pregnancy, so if you have diabetes you should have a diabetic eye exam before getting pregnant and while pregnant.

During the eye exam, your eye-care provider uses a special magnifying instrument to look for any blood vessel damage at the back of your eye. Eye exams are a safe and necessary part of your diabetes management. Contact your eye-care professional directly for an appointment or have your health-care provider refer you for an eye exam.

A diabetic eye exam may be covered by your provincial health plan at no cost to you. You can confirm this with your diabetes care provider or when making an appointment. To prevent retinopathy or prevent it from getting worse, keep your blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol within a healthy range.

Follow the ABCDEs of staying healthy with diabetes to reduce the risk of eye damage. A1C is a blood test that is a measure of your average blood sugar level over the past days. C — Cholesterol — The LDL bad cholesterol target is less than 2. D — Drugs to protect your heart — Speak with your health-care team about medications.

S — Screening for complications — Ask your health-care team about tests for your heart, feet, kidneys, and eyes. S — Smoking cessation — Stop smoking and seek support for help with quitting.

S — Self management , stress, and other barriers — Set goals for yourself to reach the targets and live well with diabetes, such as managing stress effectively. Over time, having too much sugar in your blood can damage your retina — the part of your eye that detects light and sends signals to your brain through a nerve in the back of your eye optic nerve.

Diabetes damages blood vessels all over the body. The damage to your eyes starts when sugar blocks the tiny blood vessels that go to your retina, causing them to leak fluid or bleed. These new blood vessels can leak or bleed easily.

Eye doctors can check for diabetic retinopathy as part of a dilated eye exam. The exam is simple and painless — your doctor will give you some eye drops to dilate widen your pupil and then check your eyes for diabetic retinopathy and other eye problems.

If you do develop diabetic retinopathy, early treatment can stop the damage and prevent blindness. If your eye doctor thinks you may have severe diabetic retinopathy or DME, they may do a test called a fluorescein angiogram.

This test lets the doctor see pictures of the blood vessels in your retina. Managing your diabetes is the best way to lower your risk of diabetic retinopathy. That means keeping your blood sugar levels in a healthy range. This test shows your average blood sugar level over the past 3 months.

You can work with your doctor to set a personal A1C goal. Meeting your A1C goal can help prevent or manage diabetic retinopathy. Having high blood pressure or high cholesterol along with diabetes increases your risk for diabetic retinopathy. So controlling your blood pressure and cholesterol can also help lower your risk for vision loss.

In the early stages of diabetic retinopathy, your eye doctor will probably just keep track of how your eyes are doing. Some people with diabetic retinopathy may need a comprehensive dilated eye exam as often as every 2 to 4 months. Medicines called anti-VEGF drugs can slow down or reverse diabetic retinopathy.

Other medicines, called corticosteroids, can also help. Learn more about injections. Laser treatment. To reduce swelling in your retina, eye doctors can use lasers to make the blood vessels shrink and stop leaking. Learn more about laser treatment for diabetic retinopathy.

Eye surgery. If your retina is bleeding a lot or you have a lot of scars in your eye, your eye doctor may recommend a type of surgery called a vitrectomy. Learn more about vitrectomy. Scientists are studying better ways to find, treat, and prevent vision loss in people with diabetes.

One NIH-funded research team is studying whether a cholesterol medicine called fenofibrate can stop diabetic retinopathy from getting worse. Last updated: November 15, National Eye Institute Research Today… Vision Tomorrow.

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Home Learn About Eye Health Eye Conditions and Diseases Diabetic Retinopathy. Print this Page. Diabetic Retinopathy. On this page:. At a glance: Diabetic Retinopathy Early Symptoms: None.

Later Symptoms: Blurry vision, floating spots in your vision, blindness. Diagnosis: Dilated eye exam. Treatment: Injections , laser treatment, surgery. What is diabetic retinopathy?

Other types of diabetic eye disease Diabetic retinopathy is the most common cause of vision loss for people with diabetes. But diabetes can also make you more likely to develop several other eye conditions: Cataracts.

Having diabetes makes you 2 to 5 times more likely to develop cataracts. It also makes you more likely to get them at a younger age.

Diabetes can also cause neovascular glaucoma. This happens sometimes with diabetic retinopathy when new and abnormal blood vessels grow on the iris the colored part of the eye. The new vessels can block off the flow of fluid out of the eye, which raises eye pressure. Treatment options include medicines, laser treatment, and surgery.

Talk to your eye doctor about what choices are best for you. Eye problems are common in people with diabetes, but treatments can be very effective. Only your eye doctor can diagnose eye diseases, so make sure to get a dilated eye exam at least once a year.

The earlier eye problems are found and treated, the better for your eyesight. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to search. Español Other Languages. Diabetes and Vision Loss Español Spanish Print.

Minus Related Pages. Get a dilated eye exam at least once a year to protect your eyesight. Risk Factors for Diabetic Retinopathy Anyone with type 1 , type 2 , or gestational diabetes diabetes while pregnant can develop diabetic retinopathy.

These factors can also increase your risk: Blood sugar , blood pressure, and cholesterol levels that are too high. Help for Low Vision. Symptoms in the advanced stage can include: Blurry vision Spots or dark shapes in your vision floaters Trouble seeing colors Dark or empty areas in your vision Vision loss How Diabetic Retinopathy Is Diagnosed During your eye exam, your eye doctor will check how well you see the details of letters or symbols from a distance.

Changes may include: Blurring Spots Flashes Blind spots Distortion Difficulty reading or doing detail work. Diabetic Retinopathy Treatment Treating diabetic retinopathy can repair damage to the eye and even prevent blindness in most people. Options include: Laser therapy also called laser photocoagulation.

This creates a barrier of scar tissue that slows the growth of new blood vessels. Medicines called VEGF inhibitors, which can slow down or reverse diabetic retinopathy.

Removing all or part of the vitreous vitrectomy. Reattachment of the retina for retinal detachment, a complication of diabetic retinopathy.

Injection of medicines called corticosteroids. Other Eye Diseases. Keep your blood sugar levels in your target range as much as possible. Over time, high blood sugar not only damages blood vessels in your eyes, it can also affect the shape of your lenses and make your vision blurry.

Pick sunglasses that have percent UVB and UVA protection. You should be vigilant in noticing certain changes in your eyes. If you notice dark spots or blurry vision, see your eye doctor immediately. Early detection means early treatment. Always be aware of your blood glucose levels.

Keep your levels under control so that you can prevent complications like diabetic retinopathy. If you have high blood pressure, do your best to lower it.

You can take medications and reduce the stress levels in your home or workplace. Uncontrolled blood pressure can result in the bursting of thin blood vessels in your eyes. Daily exercise improves your circulation.

Maintaining this routine provides your eyes with enough oxygenated blood. You can prevent diabetic retinopathy with the mentioned tips. At Grin Eye Care, we encourage our patients to keep their routine eye checks for early detection of this condition.

Please visit our clinics in Leawood and Olathe, Kansas, for an in-person consultation. You can also call us at for appointment scheduling or inquiries about our diabetic retinopathy treatment packages.

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Top 10 Tips for Diabetic Retinopathy Prevention. Get Extensive Routine Eye Checks A regular eye exam can help detect signs of diabetic retinopathy or any serious eye condition.

Below is a routine eye exam schedule that is recommended by eye experts: 40 years old: Baseline eye check years old: Eye check every two to four years years old: Eye check every one to three years 65 years old and above: Yearly eye check Take in Proper Nutrients Experts say that you should get all your nutrients from your food.

Have Computer Breaks Long hours of computer work can cause dry eye syndrome. Stop Smoking Any form of tobacco is a source of cyanide. Speak with your doctor to learn about the most effective ways to maintain a safe and healthy level of cholesterol and blood pressure. We all know that exercise is good for our physical and emotional health.

For those with diabetes, it is all the more important, as routine physical activity helps control and reduce blood sugar levels.

We highly recommend that you seek out professional guidance on the most effective ways to kick the habit. If you have diabetes, you are at risk of developing diabetic retinopathy. To reduce your risk and protect your vision, schedule an eye exam with Opto-mization NeuroVisual Performance today.

Home » Eye Care Services » Eye Disease Diagnosis and Management » Diabetic Retinopathy » How to Prevent Diabetic Retinopathy. Book An Appointment. Call Our Offices. Learn More About Eye Disease Management.