Diabetic retinopathy: At some point, nearly 1 out of 3 people with diabetes has retinopathy — damage to the blood vessels in the retina. That’s the lining at the back of your eye. Non-proliferative retinopathy, which doesn’t usually threaten your eyesight, is most common.

If you continue to have high blood sugar over several years, though, you could go on to have a more severe disease known as proliferative diabetic retinopathy. It’s called “proliferative” because new blood vessels start to grow on the surface of the retina. These blood vessels are fragile and can leak blood or fluid. This causes scarring of the retina and long-term vision loss.

Diabetic retinopathy may also cause macular edema. This happens when fluid leaks into the part of the retina that helps give you the sharp, central vision. You need that for reading, driving, and seeing fine details. Instead, things look blurry.

Many studies have shown that you can cut your odds of losing your vision from retinopathy and macular edema with strict control of your blood sugars, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

If you find and treat diabetic retinopathy early, you can slow or even reverse some forms of vision loss. If you have diabetes, you should see an eye doctor at least once a year. If your annual exams are normal, you may be able to have follow-up exams every 2-3 years.

There are many ways to treat proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Your doctor may target the retina with a special laser to shrink the new blood vessels. These fragile blood vessels could tear, causing bleeding in your eye. This laser procedure may keep your vision better longer. It works best if used before the fragile new vessels have started to bleed.