Symptoms & Signs
Most often, diabetic retinopathy has no symptoms until the damage to your eyes is severe.
Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy include:
- Blurred vision and gradual vision loss
- Floaters
- Shadows or missing areas of vision
- Difficulty seeing at nighttime
Many people with early diabetic retinopathy have no symptoms before major bleeding occurs in the eye. This is why everyone with diabetes should have regular eye exams.
Diagnosis & Tests
In nearly all cases, the health care provider can diagnose diabetic retinopathy by dilating the pupils with eye drops and then carefully examining the retina. A retinal photography or fluorescein angiography test may also be used.
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Diabetic retinopathy : Overview, Causes, & Risk Factors
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Diabetic retinopathy : Symptoms & Signs, Diagnosis & Tests
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Diabetic retinopathy : Treatment
Review Date : 5/20/2009
Reviewed By : Deborah Wexler, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Endocrinologist, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
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