Diabetes can increase the risk of eye problems. Your blood sugar (glucose) levels may be high because your body can't make or use insulin properly. Too much blood sugar can build up, damaging nerves and blood vessels in the body. When the damage happens in the blood vessels in the eyes, this can lead to vision loss or blindness. Anyone with diabetes is at risk, so it’s important to get routine eye exams.

    Diabetes can affect the eyes in different ways. When blood sugars are high or when you start insulin treatment, you may experience blurry vision or other vision problems. But your eyes may be damaged even if you don’t notice any changes. Don’t wait for symptoms to arise to get your vision checked.

    The retina senses light coming into the eye and sends messages to the brain about the things you see. When blood glucose builds up, the blood vessels inside the retina may be damaged -- this is called diabetic retinopathy. At first you may not notice any changes. But over time these blood vessels may develop fragile defects in the blood vessel walls, which can leak fluid. With advanced diabetes, fragile blood vessels grow throughout the retina. This can lead to severe vision loss and even blindness.

    Treatment -- Laser Surgery. Retinopathy can be detected during thorough eye exams. A special type of angiogram uses dye to find leaking blood vessels. Early stages of diabetic retinopathy often can be treated with laser surgery called photocoagulation. The laser seals the blood vessels in order to stop them from leaking and growing. The procedure can't restore lost vision. Combined with follow up care, however, surgery can lower your chances of blindness by as much as 95%.

    Treatment – Vitrectomy. In advanced stages of diabetic retinopathy -- if the retina has detached or a lot of blood has leaked into the eye -- your doctor may suggest vitrectomy. This surgical treatment removes scar tissue, blood, and cloudy fluid from inside the eye. Vitrectomy can often improve vision, especially if it's done before the disease has progressed very far.

    Risk factors for diabetic retinopathy include how well you control your blood sugar and blood pressure. Control of blood cholesterol may also help reduce the risks. Your chances of developing diabetic retinopathy increase the longer you have diabetes. Eventually, nearly everyone with diabetes will develop some degree of retinopathy.

    You can help prevent eye problems by keeping your blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol under control. A major study found that people with diabetes who managed their diabetes intensely had much lower rate of diabetic retinopathy as those who followed standard diabetes treatment. It also helps to stop smoking. And it's very important to get an annual dilated eye exam to detect early signs of the disease.

    So you’d better find the change of diabetes in advance. 3D-NLS can detect the trends of various organs, to help you master the changes of diabetes, protect your eyes.