Diabetic Retinopathy
What is Diabetic Retinopathy ?
Diabetic retinopathy (die-uh-BET-ik ret-ih-NOP-uh-thee) is a diabetes complication that affects the eyes. It’s caused by damage to the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye (retina).
At first, diabetic retinopathy might cause no symptoms or only mild vision problems. But it can lead to blindness. The condition can develop in anyone who has type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The longer you have diabetes and the less controlled your blood sugar is, the more likely you are to develop this eye complication.
Symptoms
- Spots or dark strings floating in your vision
- Blurred vision
- Fluctuating vision
- Dark or empty areas in your vision
- Vision loss
- New color blindness or color vision changes
- Night blindness
- Blind spots
- Visual field defects
- Low vision
Cause
Diabetic retinopathy can happen because of multiple types of diabetes. They include Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, Type 3c diabetes, and Gestational diabetes. Diabetes causes increased blood sugar levels and can damage the insides of blood vessels throughout your body over time. When you have diabetes-related retinopathy, damaged blood vessels in your retina are trying to repair and reroute to avoid an interruption in blood supply. As a result, fragile new blood vessels grow on the surface of your retina. These new blood vessels can cause retinal detachments and bleeding into the vitreous, a gel-like fluid in your eye. The damaged blood vessels can also leak fluid into your retina, causing macular edema. This can cause blurry vision.
Risk Factors
Anyone who has diabetes can develop diabetic retinopathy. The risk of developing the eye condition can increase as a result of:
- Having diabetes for a long time
- Poor control of your blood sugar level
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Pregnancy
- Tobacco use
- Being Black, Hispanic, or Native American
When to see a Doctor
Careful management of your diabetes is the best way to prevent vision loss. If you have diabetes, see your eye doctor for a yearly eye exam with dilation — even if your vision seems fine. Developing diabetes when pregnant (gestational diabetes) or having diabetes before becoming pregnant can increase your risk of diabetic retinopathy. If you’re pregnant, your eye doctor might recommend additional eye exams throughout your pregnancy. Contact your eye doctor right away if your vision changes suddenly or becomes blurry, spotty, or hazy.