Prevent diabetes problems: 

Keep your eyes healthy
 

Large-print version Number 

4 

in a 

Series 

of 7 

U.S. Department 


of Health and
 

Human Services
 

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse

Prevent diabetes problems: 

Keep your eyes healthy
 

U.S. Department 

of Health and 

Human Services 

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? ......................................... 5
 

How can diabetes hurt the retinas
 

of my eyes? .......................................................................... 6
 

What happens as diabetes retina problems
 

get worse?............................................................................ 7
 

What can I do about diabetes
 

retina problems?................................................................... 9
 

How do I know if I have retina damage
 

from diabetes?.................................................................... 10
 

What other eye problems can happen
 

to people with diabetes? .................................................... 11
 

Pronunciation Guide........................................................... 12
 

For More Information.......................................................... 13
 

More in the Series .............................................................. 16
 

Acknowledgments .............................................................. 17
 
 

 

 

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. 

Lens 

Retina 

Blood vessels 

on retina 

Optic nerve 

Vitreous 

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 to see the back of your eye. Finding eye 

problems early and getting treatment right away will 

help prevent more serious problems later on. 

Dilated eye.	 Undilated eye.
 

*See page 12 for tips on how to say the words in bold type.
 

3 
 

 

 

 

●	 Ask your eye care professional to check for signs of 

cataracts and glaucoma. See page 11 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. 

4 
 

 

 

 

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. 

Lens 

Retina 

Blood vessels 

on retina 

Optic nerve 

Vitreous 

A side view of the eye.
 

5 
 

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. 

6 
 

 

 

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. 

7 
Lens 

Retina 

Blood vessels 

on retina 

Optic nerve 

Vitreous 

A retina with a lot of diabetes damage. 

A retina with some diabetes damage. 

A retina without any damage. 

Lens 

Retina 

Blood vessels 

on retina 

Optic nerve 

Vitreous 

Lens 

Retina 

Blood vessels 

on retina 

Optic nerve 

Vitreous 

New blood vessels 

8 
 

 

 

 

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. 

9 
 

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. 

10 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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. 

11 
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) 

12
 
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.” 

13 
 

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. 

14 
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 

15 
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. 

16 
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. 

17 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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. 09–4279L 

November 2008