What does diabetic eye damage look like?

In later stages of the disease, blood vessels in the retina start to bleed into the vitreous (gel-like fluid that fills your eye). If this happens, you may see dark, floating spots or streaks that look like cobwebs. Sometimes, the spots clear up on their own — but it’s important to get treatment right away.

Can diabetes cause eye problems?

Diabetic retinopathy (die-uh-BET-ik ret-ih-NOP-uh-thee) is a diabetes complication that affects 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.

What is the correlation between diabetes and eye disorders?

Diabetes can lead to swelling in the macula, which is called diabetic macular edema. Over time, this disease can destroy the sharp vision in this part of the eye, leading to partial vision loss or blindness. Macular edema usually develops in people who already have other signs of diabetic retinopathy.

What are the symptoms of diabetic eye problems?

Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in the United States. Early symptoms of diabetic eye disease may include blurred vision; fluctuation in the clarity of vision; sudden loss of vision, specifically following coughing or sneezing; and seeing floaters or “cobwebs” in the field of vision.

Does diabetes cause eye problems?

In addition, diabetes can affect the eyes. Accordingly, patients can develop diabetic retinopathy , which damages the vessels that provide blood to the retina. As a result, diabetes can cause blurry vision and distortion of images, and the longer a person has had diabetes, the higher the risk of developing eye problems due to diabetes.

Why does diabetes cause eye damage?

Because the eyes have such tiny blood vessels and yet need a lot of blood (and therefore oxygen), diabetes can cause a great deal of damage. Diabetes also can cause leaking of blood vessels in the eyes, which leads to scarring and loss of vision.

Do I have bad eyesight due to diabetes?

Diabetes affects your eyes when your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. In the short term, you are not likely to have vision loss from high blood glucose. People sometimes have blurry vision for a few days or weeks when they’re changing their diabetes care plan or medicines.