People with diabetes can have an eye disease called diabetic retinopathy. This is when high blood sugar levels cause damage to blood vessels in the retina. These blood vessels can swell and leak. Or they can close, stopping blood from passing through. Sometimes abnormal new blood vessels grow on the retina. All of these changes can steal your vision.
You can have diabetic retinopathy and not know it. This is because it often has no symptoms in its early stages. As diabetic retinopathy gets worse, you will notice symptoms such as:
. seeing an increasing number of floaters
. having blurry vision
. having vision that changes sometimes from blurry to clear
. seeing blank or dark areas in your field of vision
. having poor night vision
. noticing colors appear faded or washed out
. losing vision
Diabetic retinopathy symptoms usually affect both eyes and there are two main stages of diabetic eye disease.
With NPDR, tiny blood vessels leak, making the retina swell. When the macula swells, it is called macular edema. This is the most common reason why people with diabetes lose their vision. Also with NPDR, blood vessels in the retina can close off.
This is called macular ischemia. When that happens, blood cannot reach the macula. Sometimes tiny particles called exudates can form in the retina. These can affect your vision too.
If you have NPDR, your vision will be blurry.
Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, also known as background retinopathy, is an early stage of diabetic retinopathy. In this stage, tiny blood vessels within the retina leak blood or fluid.
The leaking fluid causes the retina to swell or to form deposits.
PDR is the more advanced stage of diabetic eye disease. It happens when the retina starts growing new blood vessels. This is called neovascularization.
These fragile new vessels often bleed into the vitreous. If they only bleed a little, you might see a few dark floaters. If they bleed a lot, it might block all vision.
These new blood vessels can form scar tissue. Scar tissue can cause problems with the macula or lead to a detached retina. PDR is very serious, and can steal both your central and peripheral (side) vision.
If you suddenly see a few specks or spots floating in your vision, this may indicate proliferative diabetic retinopathy, the growth of abnormal new blood vessels on your retina and optic nerve.
Source:aao.org
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