Diabetic Eye Disease Month - Don't Sugarcoat it!


Diabetic Eye Disease Month - Don't Sugarcoat it!

Diabetes is a condition that damages the body’s ability to process sugar in the blood. The condition is also responsible for causing the loss of the vision.

November is the Diabetic eye disease month, and we need to be more informed about diabetes and diabetic eye disease.

“According to latest reports by Prevent Blindness America, the emerging new cases of blindness and vision loss are mostly due to diabetes.”

When diabetes advances, it not only causes vision problems, but it is also responsible for many health complications like strokes and heart diseases. The cases of diabetes are increasing by every year and it is hitting people at a much younger age. Due to which millions of cases emerge each year across the globe with the risk of permanent vision loss.


What is Diabetic Eye Disease?

The term refers to several eye problems that affect people suffering from diabetes. People suffering from diabetes are at high risk of developing diabetic retinopathy, cataract, and glaucoma.


Diabetic Retinopathy

The following disease affects the blood vessels of our sensitive eye tissue known as the retina. It is the most common eye disease and also the most common cause of vision loss. The reports suggest that it has been the leading cause of vision impairment and blindness among the working adults.

When the disease advances, it causes Diabetic Macular Edema. It is a swelling in the area of the retina known as macula.



The disease causes the clouding of eye’s lens. People with diabetes are more likely to develop cataract than those without diabetes.



It’s a group of diseases causing damage to the eye’s optic nerve. It’s a bundle of nerve fibres that connect eye to the brain.


Symptoms of Diabetic Eye Disease

Symptoms of Diabetic eye disease can be detected through comprehensive dilated eye testing. Through eye testing, the doctor looks for following indications.

  • Leaking blood vessels
  • Macular edema (Swelling)
  • Pale, fatty deposits on the retina
  • Damaged nerve tissue


Any changes to the retinal blood vessels

For effective detection, there are several tests to ensure that a person is suffering from diabetic eye disease.


Visual acuity testing.

It is an eye chart test, which measures a person’s ability to see at various distances.



The following test is done to measure the pressure inside the eyes.


Pupil Dilation

With the help of this test, the doctor is able to examine the retina and the optic nerve by the drops placed on the eye’s surface which dilate (widen) the pupil.


Optical coherence tomography (OCT)

This technique uses light waves to capture the images of tissues inside the body. OCT is able to provide detailed and effective images of tissues of the eye.

“Every other form of diabetic eye disease has the potential to cause vision loss and blindness.”


What’s Our Responsibility?

Our duty as a responsible citizen is to make sure that people should be made aware of the disease of diabetes and its consequences of vision loss. We all should encourage each other for a routine eye check-up and let the doctors detect if there is a problem. Let us step up and educate each other about diabetes this November, the Diabetic Eye Disease Month.

Because we need to be more concerned about the health of our eyes and our body. It’s our choice to choose a healthy lifestyle or a bad one.