Knowing the Signs of Diabetic Retinopathy

While unmanaged diabetes can cause a number of complications, your eyes are especially at risk, most often to diabetic retinopathy. This disease can develop in patients with any form of diabetes, including type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. Essentially, your high blood sugar causes blood vessels to develop abnormally, leading to problems as serious as vision loss.

Early diagnosis is the best way to stay ahead of diabetic retinopathy, but the first signs of the disease are difficult to identify. That’s why it’s important to know what to look for — and get regular comprehensive eye exams — to keep your eyes healthy and vision clear!

What Is Diabetic Retinopathy? How Do I Know If I Have It?

Diabetic retinopathy occurs when malformed blood vessels in your eyes swell or leak near your retina, which is responsible for translating the images you see for your brain. Whether these blood vessels are blocking blood flow or flooding your sensitive retina, you may start to experience mild vision problems that evolve into irreversible vision loss.

To help protect your eyesight, early detection of diabetic retinopathy is crucial — and while you should keep an eye out for symptoms yourself, your eye doctor will always detect it sooner! That’s why we recommend you come in for in-depth screenings using our advanced diagnostic technology. This is especially true for patients who have had diabetes for some time, as they need to be especially vigilant.

What Are the Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy?

There are two main stages of diabetic retinopathy. The first, non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, sees changes to your retina due to small bulbs in the bloodstream known as microaneurysms. Our specialized testing can detect these affected blood vessels — but if nothing is done, they can swell, block blood flow, and hemorrhage.

If left untreated, the disease will advance into its later stage: proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Abnormal blood vessels begin to leak into the gel-like fluid in your eye known as the vitreous. This can create thick scar tissue that detaches the retina, resulting in dramatic vision loss.

But keep in mind: catching those first microaneurysms can help us prevent this second stage!