Diabetes is a very common disease that can affect many parts of the body, including the eye. Due to higher-than-normal sugar levels in the blood, the lining of blood vessels exposed to this disease start to become damaged over time. The retina has many blood vessels constantly working to bring oxygen and nutrients to the eye and provide vision and thus is particularly sensitive to diabetic damage. Damage from diabetic retinopathy varies from minimal to complete vision loss. Treatment for this disease includes injections of medicine into the eye, laser therapy, and in some cases surgery to stabilize and/or restore vision. Careful control of a patient’s blood sugar and blood pressure is needed to prevent further damage to the retina.
