Diabetic eye screening matters because raised blood glucose can quietly damage the tiny blood vessels in the retina long before you notice anything is wrong. In its early stages this damage usually causes no early symptoms, so a regular check is one of the most reliable ways to protect your sight. As a general guide, people with diabetes should have a dilated eye examination every one to two years, or more often if their specialist advises.
- Two conditions to watch. Diabetes can cause diabetic retinopathy, where retinal blood vessels are damaged, and diabetic macular oedema, where fluid collects in the central retina.
- Higher risk over time. The longer you have lived with diabetes, the greater the chance of changes, and pregnancy can accelerate them.
- Treatable when found early. Laser and injection treatments can help stabilise vision.
How Diabetes Affects the Eyes
High blood glucose damages the small blood vessels in the retina over months and years. As Better Health Channel explains, this is the basis of diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes that affects the vessels inside the retina. The two changes that matter most are:
- Diabetic retinopathy, where the retinal blood vessels are damaged. In the early (background) stage, vessels develop tiny bulges and may leak. In the more advanced (proliferative) stage, the retina grows fragile new vessels that can bleed into the eye or pull on the retina.
- Diabetic macular oedema, where fluid builds up in the macula, the central part of the retina you use for reading, recognising faces, and seeing fine detail. This can occur at any stage of retinopathy and is a common cause of vision loss in people with diabetes.
Diabetes can also make you more likely to develop cataracts, sometimes at a younger age, and raises the risk of glaucoma. A thorough diabetic eye review looks at the whole eye, not the retina alone.
Why Diabetic Eye Disease Often Has No Early Warning
Early diabetic eye disease usually causes no symptoms, which is the most important thing to understand. The retina has no pain fibres, so damage builds up silently. You can feel that your vision is completely normal and still have changes that need monitoring or treatment.
This is exactly why regular checks matter so much. Diabetes Australia reports that many Australians lose part or all of their sight as a result of diabetes, and that nearly half of all Australians with diabetes are not having regular diabetes eye checks. The greatest risk comes not from disease that has been found, but from disease that has gone undetected.
When symptoms do appear, they can include:
- Blurred or fluctuating vision
- Dark spots, floaters, or shapes drifting across your vision
- Difficulty seeing colours clearly
- Patches of missing or shadowed vision
A sudden shower of new floaters, flashes of light, or a dark curtain across your vision needs prompt assessment, as these can signal bleeding inside the eye. If this happens, please contact us or your referring doctor without delay.
Why Regular Eye Checks Matter and How Often
Everyone with diabetes should have regular eye checks, which are usually how diabetic eye changes are first picked up.
As a general guide, people with diabetes should have a dilated eye examination every one to two years. Individual circumstances differ, and your GP, endocrinologist, or eye specialist will confirm the right interval for your situation, and may bring it forward when changes are already present, during pregnancy, or when blood glucose has been difficult to manage.
Eye conditions are common across the wider community. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare recorded more than 13 million Australians living with one or more chronic eye conditions, which is a reminder that protecting your sight is a normal part of looking after your long-term health.
Diabetes itself is common in the communities we serve across Eastwood, Ryde, and wider Sydney. Some ancestral backgrounds carry a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, but whatever your background, the protective steps are the same.
Manage your diabetes with your GP or endocrinologist, and have your eyes checked on a regular schedule.
What an Eye Check Involves
A diabetic eye check is a careful, comfortable look at the back of your eye. When you are referred to us, your assessment may involve:
- A dilated examination, where drops widen your pupils so your specialist can examine the whole retina. This is the part of the check that lets us see changes you cannot feel.
- Fundus photography, detailed retinal photographs that record and compare changes over time.
- Optical coherence tomography (OCT), a quick scan that does not touch the eye and shows the layers of the retina and detects fluid in the macula.
- Fluorescein angiography in some cases, where a dye highlights the retinal vessels and shows any leakage.
The drops used to widen your pupils blur your vision and increase light sensitivity for a few hours, so it is sensible to arrange for someone to drive you home. Your specialist will explain what the images show and whether anything needs treatment or further monitoring.
How Diabetic Eye Disease Is Treated
Treatment depends on the type and stage of the changes found, and aims to stabilise your vision and reduce the risk of further loss. Treatment manages the condition rather than cures it, and your specialist will recommend the approach most appropriate for your eyes. The main options are described below in general terms.
- Laser photocoagulation uses a focused laser to seal leaking vessels and treat areas of the retina growing fragile new vessels. It is used mainly for proliferative diabetic retinopathy and helps to stabilise the retina. You can read more on our laser treatments page.
- Intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy involves injecting a small amount of medicine into the eye to reduce fluid leakage and discourage abnormal vessel growth. It is commonly used for diabetic macular oedema and some cases of proliferative retinopathy. For many patients it can help stabilise vision, meaning it aims to slow or halt further loss rather than to restore vision that has already been affected, though individual results vary and treatment is often given as a course over time. Our intravitreal injections page explains what to expect.
Treatment usually works best when it starts early. The sooner a change is found, the more options you and your specialist are likely to have.
Why Blood Sugar and Blood Pressure Control Matter for Your Eyes
Good blood sugar control is one of the most important factors in slowing diabetic eye disease, alongside steady blood pressure and cholesterol within target. Good control supports any eye treatment you receive, and in many cases reduces the risk of changes developing in the first place.
This part of your care is led by your GP and endocrinologist. We do not provide diabetes management advice ourselves, so please discuss your medication, diet, and targets with them.
We work alongside your treating doctors, sharing our findings so your eye care and your diabetes care stay joined up. The two work together, and neither replaces the other.
How We Approach Your Care at Eastwood Eye Surgery
A thorough retinal assessment is where we begin when you are referred to us, so we can understand the stage of any diabetic eye changes and whether treatment is needed now. We then agree on a review schedule with you. If treatment is recommended, your specialist will explain the options and what each step is designed to achieve, so you can make an informed decision about your care.
We provide diabetic eye care at our Eastwood rooms, and we are happy to coordinate with your GP and endocrinologist throughout.
How to Protect Your Sight When You Live With Diabetes
Regular eye checks are one of the most practical things you can do to protect your sight if you live with diabetes. Combine them with the diabetes care your GP and endocrinologist provide, and you give your eyes strong, ongoing protection.
If you have been referred for a diabetic eye assessment, or you would like to arrange specialist eye care, you can contact our rooms to book an appointment. You may also like to read our new patient information before your first visit.
You may also find our pages on diabetic eye disease, intravitreal injections and macular degeneration useful.
Sources
- Diabetes Australia, Your eye health and diabetes
- Better Health Channel, Diabetic retinopathy
- Healthdirect Australia, Diabetic retinopathy
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Eye health
This article is general information and is not a substitute for individual medical advice. Diabetic eye care at Eastwood Eye Surgery is provided by specialist ophthalmologists. Reviewed by a specialist ophthalmologist.