# What is Diabetic Retinopathy?

Source page: https://www.kudretgozistanbul.com/en/blog/eye-diseases/what-is-diabetic-retinopathy

**Author:** Kudret Eye İstanbul | **Medical Approval:** Op. Dr. Mehmet Ali Özdil | **Date:** 2026-09-12

> **Summary:** Diabetic retinopathy is the greatest cause of sight loss arising from diabetes: raised blood sugar damages the blood vessels, the nerves of the eye and the capillaries within the nerve layer. It usually causes no symptoms in its early stages, so people with diabetes need regular eye examinations; with early diagnosis blindness can be prevented in the great majority of cases.

## Quick Facts
- **Cause:** Diabetes (type 1, type 2 or gestational); the likelihood rises within the ten years following diagnosis
- **Stages:** Three (background, pre-proliferative, proliferative)
- **Check-ups:** Comprehensive eye examination once a year for people with diabetes but no retinopathy, more often as retinopathy advances
- **Treatments:** Laser, surgery according to the patient's situation, injection of medication into the eye (anti-VEGF, certain steroids)
- **Cure:** No complete cure; early treatment halts progression and preserves vision

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## What is Diabetic Retinopathy?
When the body lacks insulin or cannot use it properly, blood sugar rises and damages the blood vessels. Diabetes affects the nerves of the eye and the capillaries within the nerve layer, which prevents the eye from carrying out its function and leads to sight loss. The retinal problems arising from diabetes are called diabetic retinopathy.

## Causes
- Diabetes (diabetes mellitus) in its forms type 1, type 2 and gestational: the pancreas produces too little insulin or the body cannot use it correctly, so blood sugar rises chronically.
- The likelihood of retinopathy increases within the ten years following a diagnosis of diabetes.
- In young patients with type 1 or insulin dependent diabetes, the likelihood is higher after adolescence.
- Living conditions and diet strongly influence the rise in diabetes; a balanced, regular diet helps avoid it.
- High blood sugar can damage the nerves and the optic nerves.

## Symptoms
Symptoms vary with the severity of the damage. In the early stages there are usually no symptoms, so regular eye examinations are needed even without complaints. Cataract and other eye conditions are also seen at a higher rate in people with diabetes, who therefore need more frequent check-ups and attention to diet, medication and examinations.
- Blurred vision
- Deterioration of vision over time
- Shapes and objects drifting across the field of vision (floaters)
- Sudden sight loss
- Difficulty seeing in the dark

Urgent signs: a sudden increase in floaters, flashes of light, a curtain coming down across the vision or sudden sight loss require an ophthalmologist without delay.

## Stages
- **Stage 1 (background retinopathy):** slight damage to the retinal vessels with small microaneurysms; very common in people with diabetes; early sight loss is rare; no treatment needed, but precautions to prevent later stages. If both eyes are affected, vision quality falls further.
- **Stage 2 (pre-proliferative retinopathy):** damage that can cause bleeding in the retina and within the eye; vision can be affected more.
- **Stage 3 (proliferative retinopathy):** abnormal new blood vessels form in the retina and can cause serious bleeding; retinal detachment can occur; sight loss is a strong possibility. Vision cannot be restored; the aim is to preserve what remains.

## Diagnosis and Treatment
- Diagnosis: the ophthalmologist dilates the pupils and carries out many painless analyses and tests. If serious retinopathy or diabetic macular oedema is diagnosed, fluorescein angiography may be applied to show the state of the vessels, the areas affected by sight loss and the vessels causing bleeding.
- Early treatment can stop the damage advancing; untreated, it can lead to blindness in time.
- Diabetic retinopathy has no complete cure, but early diagnosis prevents blindness in the great majority of cases. Patients identified early are monitored continually and their blood sugar is regulated.
- People with diabetes but no retinopathy: comprehensive eye examination once a year, more often as retinopathy advances. At advanced stages with deteriorated vision, treatment begins immediately.
- Methods to halt progression: laser treatments (also to prevent new, leaking blood vessels from forming), various surgical procedures according to the patient's situation, and injection of medication into the eye (anti-VEGF medicines and certain steroids), which slow the disease.