U.S. Department 


of Health and
 

Human Services
 

Prevent diabetes problems
 

Number 

4

in a 

Series 

of 7 

Keep your eyes healthy eep your eyes healthy

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse 

 

U.S. Department 

of Health and 

Human Services 

Prevent diabetes problems: 

Keep your eyes healthy 

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse 

Contents
 

What are diabetes problems?.................................. 1
 

What should I do each day to stay healthy 

with diabetes? ........................................................... 2 

What can I do to prevent diabetes 

eye problems?........................................................... 3
 

How can diabetes hurt my eyes?............................. 4
 

How can diabetes hurt the retinas 


of my eyes?................................................................ 5
 

What happens as diabetes retina problems 


get worse? ................................................................. 6
 

What can I do about diabetes 


retina problems?....................................................... 8
 

How do I know if I have retina damage 


from diabetes? .......................................................... 9
 

What other eye problems can happen 


to people with diabetes? ........................................ 10
 

Pronunciation Guide.............................................. 11
 

For More Information ........................................... 12 


More in the Series.................................................. 15
 

Acknowledgments .................................................. 16
 

Optic nerve 

Vitreous 

Blood vessels 

on retina 

Retina 

Lens 

What are diabetes problems? 

Too much glucose in the blood for a long time can 

cause diabetes problems. This high blood glucose, 

also called blood sugar, can damage many parts of 

the body, such as the heart, blood vessels, eyes, and 

kidneys. Heart and blood vessel disease can lead 

to heart attacks and strokes. You can do a lot to 

prevent or slow down diabetes problems. 

This booklet is about eye problems caused by 

diabetes. You will learn the things you can do 

each day and during each year to stay healthy 

and prevent diabetes problems. 

High blood glucose can cause eye problems. 

1 
 

 

 

What should I do each day to stay 

healthy with diabetes? 

Follow the healthy eating plan that 

you and your doctor or dietitian have 

worked out. 

Be active a total of 30 minutes most 

days. Ask your doctor what activities 

are best for you. 

Take your medicines as directed. 

Check your blood glucose every day. 

Each time you check your blood 

glucose, write the number in your 

record book. 

Check your feet every day for cuts, 

blisters, sores, swelling, redness, or 

sore toenails. 

Brush and floss your teeth every day. 

Control your blood pressure and 

cholesterol. 

Don’t smoke. 

2 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What can I do to prevent diabetes 

eye problems? 

You can do a lot to prevent diabetes eye problems. 

● Keep your blood glucose and blood pressure as 

close to normal as you can. 

●	 Have an eye care professional examine your eyes 

once a year. Have this exam even if your vision is 

OK. The eye care professional will use drops to 

make the black part of your 

eyes—pupils—bigger. This 

process is called dilating* 

your pupil, which allows 

the eye care professional Dilated eye. to see the back of your eye.
 

Finding eye problems early
 

and getting treatment right 


away will help prevent more 


serious problems later on. Undilated eye.
 

●	 Ask your eye care professional to check for signs 

of cataracts and glaucoma. See page 10 to learn 

more about cataracts and glaucoma. 

●	 If you are planning to get pregnant soon, ask 

your doctor if you should have an eye exam. 

●	 If you are pregnant and have diabetes, see an eye 

care professional during your first 3 months of 

pregnancy. 

● Don’t smoke. 

*See page 11 for tips on how to say the words 

in bold type. 3 
 

 

 

 

How can diabetes hurt my eyes? 

High blood glucose and high blood pressure from 

diabetes can hurt four parts of your eye: 

● Retina. The retina is the lining at the back of 

the eye. The retina’s job is to sense light coming 

into the eye. 

●	 Vitreous. The vitreous is a jelly-like fluid that 

fills the back of the eye. 

●	 Lens. The lens is at the front of the eye. The 

lens focuses light on the retina. 

●	 Optic nerve. The optic nerve is the eye’s main 

nerve to the brain. 

Optic nerve 

Vitreous 

Blood vessels 

on retina 

Retina 

Lens 

A side view of the eye. 

4 
How can diabetes hurt the retinas 


of my eyes?
 

Retina damage happens slowly. Your retinas have 

tiny blood vessels that are easy to damage. Having 

high blood glucose and high blood pressure for a 

long time can damage these tiny blood vessels. 

First, these tiny blood vessels swell and weaken. 

Some blood vessels then become clogged and do 

not let enough blood through. At first, you might 

not have any loss of sight from these changes. 

Have a dilated eye exam once a year even if your 

sight seems fine. 

One of your eyes may be damaged more than the 

other. Or both eyes may have the same amount 

of damage. 

Diabetic retinopathy is the medical term for the 

most common diabetes eye problem. 

5 
 

 

 

What happens as diabetes retina 


problems get worse?
 

As diabetes retina problems get worse, new blood 

vessels grow. These new blood vessels are weak. 

They break easily and leak blood into the vitreous 

of your eye. The leaking blood keeps light from 

reaching the retina. 

You may see floating spots or almost total 

darkness. Sometimes the blood will clear out by 

itself. But you might need surgery to remove it. 

Over the years, the swollen and weak blood 

vessels can form scar tissue and pull the retina 

away from the back of the eye. If the retina 

becomes detached, you may see floating spots or 

flashing lights. 

You may feel as if a curtain has been pulled over 

part of what you are looking at. A detached retina 

can cause loss of sight or blindness if you don’t take 

care of it right away. 

Call your eye care professional right away if you 

are having any vision problems or if you have had a 

sudden change in your vision. 

6 
Optic nerve 

Vitreous 

Blood vessels 

on retina 

Retina 

Lens 

Lens Optic nerve 

Blood vessels 

on retina 

Retina 

Vitreous 

New blood vessels 

Lens 

Optic nerve 

Blood vessels 

on retina 

Vitreous 

Retina 

A retina with some diabetes damage. 

A retina without any damage. 

A retina with a lot of diabetes damage. 

7 
What can I do about diabetes 

retina problems? 

Keep your blood glucose and blood pressure as 

close to normal as you can. 

Your eye care professional may suggest laser 

treatment, which is when a light beam is aimed 

into the retina of the damaged eye. The beam 

closes off leaking blood vessels. It may stop blood 

and fluid from leaking into the vitreous. Laser 

treatment may slow the loss of sight. 

If a lot of blood has leaked into your vitreous and 

your sight is poor, your eye care professional might 

suggest you have surgery called a vitrectomy. A 

vitrectomy removes blood and fluid from the 

vitreous of your eye. Then clean fluid is put back 

into the eye. The surgery can make your eyesight 

better. 

8 
 

How do I know if I have retina 

damage from diabetes? 

You may not have any signs of diabetes retina 

damage, or you may have one or more signs: 

● blurry or double vision 

● rings, flashing lights, or blank spots 

● dark or floating spots 

● pain or pressure in one or both of your eyes 

●	 trouble seeing things out of the corners of 

your eyes 

Normal vision	 Blurry vision 

If you have retina damage from diabetes, you may have 

blurry or double vision. 

9 
 

 

 

What other eye problems can 


happen to people with diabetes?
 

You can get two other eye problems—cataracts and 

glaucoma. People without diabetes can get these 

eye problems, too. But people with diabetes get 

these problems more often and at a younger age. 

●	 A cataract is a cloud over the lens of your eye, 

which is usually clear. The lens focuses light 

onto the retina. A cataract makes everything 

you look at seem cloudy. You need surgery to 

remove the cataract. During surgery your lens is 

taken out and a plastic lens, like a contact lens, 

is put in. The plastic lens stays in your eye all 

the time. Cataract surgery helps you see clearly 

again. 

●	 Glaucoma starts from pressure building up in the 

eye. Over time, this pressure damages your eye’s 

main nerve—the optic nerve. The damage first 

causes you to lose sight from the sides of your 

eyes. Treating glaucoma is usually simple. Your 

eye care professional will give you special drops 

to use every day to lower the pressure in your 

eyes. Or your eye care professional may want 

you to have laser surgery. 

10
 
Pronunciation Guide 

cataracts (KAT-uh-rakts)
 

dilating (DY-layt-eeng)
 

glaucoma (glaw-KOH-muh) 


lens (lenz) 


optic nerve (AHP-tik) (nerv)
 

retina (RET-ih-nuh)
 

retinopathy (RET-ih-NOP-uh-thee)
 

vitrectomy (vih-TREK-tuh-mee) 


vitreous (VIT-ree-uhss) 


11 
For More Information 

Eye Care Professionals (ophthalmologists, 


optometrists)
 

To find an eye care 


professional near you, ask your 


doctor for a recommendation, 


contact a nearby hospital 


or medical school, or call a 


state or county association 


of ophthalmologists or 


optometrists.
 

See the American Academy of Ophthalmology 

website at www.aao.org and use the “Find an 

Eye M.D.” service. 

See the American Optometric Association 

website at www.aoa.org and click on “Find an 

Optometrist” or call 1–800–365–2219. 

Diabetes Teachers (nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, 

and other health professionals) 

To find a diabetes teacher near you, call the 

American Association of Diabetes Educators 

toll-free at 1–800–TEAMUP4 (832–6874), or 

look on the Internet at www.diabeteseducator.org 

and click on “Find a Diabetes Educator.” 

12
 
 

Dietitians 

To find a dietitian near you, contact the American 

Dietetic Association at www.eatright.org and click 

on “Find a Nutrition Professional.” 

Government 

The National Eye Institute (NEI) is part of the 

National Institutes of Health. To learn more 

about eye problems, write or call the NEI, 

2020 Vision Place, Bethesda, MD 20892–3655, 

301–496–5248; or see www.nei.nih.gov on the 

Internet. 

13 
To get more information about taking care of 

diabetes, contact 

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse 

1 Information Way
 

Bethesda, MD 20892–3560
 

Phone: 1–800–860–8747
 

TTY: 1–866–569–1162
 

Fax: 703–738–4929
 

Email: ndic@info.niddk.nih.gov
 

Internet: www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov
 

National Diabetes Education Program 

1 Diabetes Way
 

Bethesda, MD 20814–9692
 

Phone: 1–888–693–NDEP (6337)
 

TTY: 1–866–569–1162
 

Fax: 703–738–4929
 

Email: ndep@mail.nih.gov
 

Internet: www.ndep.nih.gov
 

American Diabetes Association 

1701 North Beauregard Street
 

Alexandria, VA 22311
 

Phone: 1–800–DIABETES (342–2383)
 

Internet: www.diabetes.org
 

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
 

International
 

120 Wall Street
 

New York, NY 10005–4001
 

Phone: 1–800–533–CURE (2873)
 

Internet: www.jdrf.org
 

14 
 

More in the Series 

The “Prevent Diabetes Problems” Series has seven 


booklets that can help you learn more about how 


to prevent diabetes problems. 

For free single copies of these booklets, write, call, 

fax, or email the 

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse 

1 Information Way 

Bethesda, MD 20892–3560 

Phone: 1–800–860–8747 

TTY: 1–866–569–1162 

Fax: 703–738–4929 

Email: ndic@info.niddk.nih.gov 

These booklets are also available at 

www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov on the Internet. 

15 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledgments 

The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse 


thanks the people who helped review or field-test 


this publication: 

For the American 

Association of 

Diabetes Educators 

Lynn Grieger, R.D., 

C.D.E. 

Arlington, VT 

Celia Levesque, R.N., 

C.D.E. 

Montgomery, AL 

Teresa McMahon, 

Pharm.D., C.D.E. 

Seattle, WA 

Barbara Schreiner, R.N., 

M.N., C.D.E. 

Galveston, TX 

For the American 

Diabetes Association 

Phyllis Barrier, M.S., 

R.D., C.D.E. 

Alexandria, VA 

Linda Haas, Ph.C., R.N., 

C.D.E. 

Seattle, WA 

Kathleen Mahoney, 

M.S.N., R.N., C.D.E. 

Drexel Hill, PA 

Randi Kington, M.S., 

R.N., C.S., C.D.E. 

Hartford, CT 

For the Centers for 

Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

Baltimore, MD
 

Jan Drass, R.N., C.D.E.
 

For the Diabetes Research 

and Training Centers 

Albert Einstein School 

of Medicine 

Norwalk Hospital 

Norwalk, CT 

Jill Ely, R.N., C.D.E. 

Sam Engel, M.D. 

Pam Howard, A.P.R.N., 

C.D.E. 

Indiana University 

School of Medicine 

Indianapolis, IN 

Madelyn Wheeler, M.S., 

R.D., F.A.D.A., C.D.E. 

VA/JDF Diabetes 

Research Center 

Vanderbilt School of 

Medicine 

Nashville, TN 

Ok Chon Allison, 

M.S.N., R.N.C.S., 

A.N.P., C.D.E. 

Barbara Backer, B.S. 

James W. Pichert, Ph.D. 

Alvin Powers, M.D. 

Melissa E. Schweikhart 

Michael B. Smith 

Kathleen Wolffe, R.N. 

For the Grady Health 

System Diabetes Clinic 

Atlanta, GA
 

Ernestine Baker, R.N.,
 

F.N.P., C.D.E. 

Kris Ernst, R.N., C.D.E. 

Margaret Fowke, 

R.D., L.D. 

Kay Mann, R.N., C.D.E. 

For the Indian Health 

Service 

Albuquerque, NM
 

Ruth Bear, R.D., C.D.E.
 

Dorinda Bradley, R.N.,
 

C.D.E. 

Terry Fisher, R.N. 

Lorraine Valdez, R.N., 

C.D.E. 

Red Lake, MN 

Charmaine Branchaud, 

B.S.N., R.N., C.D.E. 

For the Medlantic 

Research Center 

Washington, DC 

Resa Levetan, M.D. 

For the National Eye 

Institute 

Judith Stein 

Bethesda, MD 

For the Texas Diabetes 

Council 

Texas Department of 

Health 

Austin, TX 

Luby Garza-Abijaoude, 

M.S., R.D., L.D. 

16
 
 

 

 

 

National Diabetes 


Information Clearinghouse
 

1 Information Way
 

Bethesda, MD 20892–3560
 

Phone: 1–800–860–8747
 

TTY: 1–866–569–1162
 

Fax: 703–738–4929
 

Email: ndic@info.niddk.nih.gov
 

Internet: www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov
 

The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC) is 

a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive 

and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The NIDDK is part of the 

National Institutes of Health of the U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services. Established in 1978, the Clearinghouse 

provides information about diabetes to people with diabetes and 

to their families, health care professionals, and the public. The 

NDIC answers inquiries, develops and distributes publications, 

and works closely with professional and patient organizations and 

Government agencies to coordinate resources about diabetes. 

Publications produced by the Clearinghouse are carefully 

reviewed by both NIDDK scientists and outside experts. 

This publication is not copyrighted. The Clearinghouse 

encourages users of this booklet to duplicate and distribute as 

many copies as desired. 

This booklet is also available at www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov. 

This publication may contain information about medications. 

When prepared, this publication included the most current 

information available. For updates or for questions about any 

medications, contact the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 

toll-free at 1–888–INFO–FDA (463–6332) or visit www.fda.gov. 

Consult your doctor for more information. 
U.S. DEPARTmENT OF HEALTH 

AND HUmAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

NIH Publication No. 09–4279 

November 2008