Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes and a leading cause of blindness. It occurs when diabetes damages the tiny blood vessels inside the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. A healthy retina is necessary for good vision.

If you have diabetic retinopathy, at first you may notice no changes to your vision. But over time, diabetic retinopathy can get worse and cause vision loss. Diabetic retinopathy usually affects both eyes. If you have diabetes, get a comprehensive dilated eye exam at least once a year.

These two photos show how someone with normal vision sees an image and how someone with diabetic retinopathy might see the same image. (These photos are courtesy of the National Eye Institute.)

For more information about symptoms, risk factors and treatment of diabetic retinopathy, check out the National Eye Institute's Web site at http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/diabetic/retinopathy.htm

Free Materials
The National Eye Institute also has a variety of free materials, including a poster, refrigerator magnet, and pamphlets (some of which are available in Spanish) designed to educate people with diabetes about the importance of taking care of their vision. You can order these materials from the Healthy Vision Month Web site at http://www.healthyvision2010.org/hvm/resources.asp or by calling 1-800-869-2020.

The Sight & Hearing Association is part of the Healthy Vision Consortium, an alliance of organizations committed to the eye health of all Americans by supporting the vision objectives in Healthy People 2010. Healthy Vision 2010 is coordinated by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.