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Diabetes and Eye Health

Learn how diabetes can impact your eyes, and what you can do to prevent or treat eye complications to protect your vision!

Taking good care of your eyes is especially important for people with type 1 diabetes. No matter what your blood sugar levels or A1c is, we all need annual eye exams to help us prevent eye complications and treat them as soon as possible to protect our vision.

Learn everything you need to know about how diabetes can impact your eyes, and what you can do to keep them healthy!

This portal on Eye Health was made possible through the ADA x BT1 Collab. To learn more about the importance of eye health for people living with diabetes, check out Focus on Diabetes on ADA’s website. 

Eye Health Basics

Can People with Diabetes Get LASIK Eye Surgery?

As a person with diabetes, annual visits to your eye doctor are critical to catching the earliest stages of diabetes-related...

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Protecting Your Eyes as a Person of Color with Diabetes

Today, more than 800,000 Black Americans have diabetic retinopathy. Retinopathy can lead to vision loss and blindness when left undiagnosed...

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What does 20/20 vision mean?

Normal vision is 20/20 or better, which means you can see something clearly from 20 feet away—the standard vision ability...

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What’s the Difference: Ophthalmologist vs. Optometrist vs. Optician

As a person with diabetes, it’s important to have an eye-healthcare team, starting with an optometrist. Let’s take a look...

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What to Expect at Your Annual Diabetes Eye Exam

Your annual diabetes eye exam can take anywhere between one to two hours because there are actually four parts to...

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Why You Should Schedule Your Annual Diabetes Eye Exam

As a person with diabetes, your annual eye exam is the best way to determine if your blood glucose (blood...

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Tips to Protect Your Eyes

Which Sunglasses are Best for People with Diabetes?

Before you buy your next pair of sunglasses, consider more than just how cool the frames will look with your...

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Computer Screens & Blue Light: What Screen Time Can Do to Your Eyes

Throughout the day, you may easily spend more time with your eyes on a screen than not. Between your computer,...

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Eye Complications

Floaters in Your Vision: When Should You Be Concerned?

While anyone can develop this eye condition, floaters are more common in people with diabetes who have developed diabetic retinopathy...

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All About Glaucoma in People with Diabetes

Glaucoma is usually related to pressure in your eyes that is higher than normal—and it’s more common in people with...

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All About Cataracts in People with Diabetes

Cataracts is likely a term you’ve heard to describe an eye condition in older people, but as someone with diabetes...

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All About Diabetic Macular Edema

Diabetic macular edema (DME) is extremely common in older people with diabetic retinopathy, but it can also occur in people...

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All About Diabetic Retinopathy

Retinopathy is one of the most common and most serious diabetes-related eye complications. It’s actually the leading cause of preventable...

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All About “Dry Eye” with Diabetes

One of the most common yet rarely talked about eye conditions in people with diabetes is dry eye, it affects...

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Personal Stories

My Experience Getting LASIK Eye Surgery as a Person with Diabetes

As a person with diabetes, annual visits to your eye doctor are critical to catching the earliest stages of diabetes-related...

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Tiffani’s Story: The Cost of Not Taking My Insulin

Tiffani Martin was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 5 years old, in 1993. At the age of 27, she...

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We Asked an Ophthalmologist: Who REALLY Needs Eye Exams?

Kevin Blinder, MD—an ophthalmologist and ADA volunteer— recently spoke to Beyond Type 1 on the importance of annual eye exams...

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Patients Share: Treatments for Diabetes Eye Complications

While the causes and tests for diabetes-related eye complications are all the same, the experience of your personal diagnosis and...

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Rachael’s Story: My Stage 4 Diabetic Retinopathy Went Undiagnosed for Years

“I was diagnosed with retinopathy two years ago after a pretty significant hemorrhage in my right eye,” explains Rachael, who’s...

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Bethany’s Story: My Eye Started Bleeding the Day My First Child Was Born

“My first bleed was almost 12 years ago—the day my first baby was born,” explains Bethany, who’s lived with type...

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