November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, which includes World Diabetes Day, observed around the globe on November 14. Diabetes is one of the world’s most prevalent and fastest-growing health challenges. An estimated 1 in 9 adults worldwide are living with the disease, which is expected to impact 853 million people by 2050.

If you are one of the more than 40 million Americans living with diabetes, managing your blood sugar to keep it in a healthy range protects your long-term health — and that includes your vision. Did you know that diabetes negatively affects the delicate structures in your eyes? It might even cause damage before you notice any change in how well you see.

The theme for 2026 World Diabetes Day is “Early Action on Diabetes,” with a focus on catching the disease early to reduce your risk for complications. One way to take early action is by keeping your regularly scheduled comprehensive eye exam, a crucial preventive step. Even if your vision seems perfectly clear, your optometrist may detect early signs of diabetic eye disease, which helps us start treatment before it threatens your sight.

How Diabetes Affects Your Eyes

Your eyes are precious organs that are extremely sensitive. Tiny blood vessels deliver oxygen and nutrients to these delicate tissues to keep them functioning well. But over time, elevated blood sugar damages those blood vessels and tissues, and disease may take root.

Diabetes contributes to a specific set of eye conditions known as Diabetic Eye Disease, which may cause permanent damage if left untreated. These conditions include:

Diabetic Retinopathy, which affects your retina, the light-sensitive tissue lining the back of your eye. High blood sugar weakens the retina’s tiny blood vessels, causing them to leak or bleed. If the condition advances, your body may grow abnormal blood vessels in an effort to replace the leaky ones, which may lead to scarring or even retinal detachment (and retinal detachment is a medical emergency).

Diabetic Macular Edema: This is when fluid leaks into the macula, where your sharp, central vision occurs. Such swelling can make it difficult to see fine details or even recognize faces of the people you know and love.

Glaucoma: Diabetes gives you a higher likelihood of developing glaucoma, which damages the optic nerve and can lead to permanent vision loss.

Cataracts: Diabetes increases your risk of developing cataracts.

Not everyone with diabetes will develop Diabetic Eye Disease; preventive action is incredibly important to help avoid it. You hold the power to make healthy choices such as controlling your blood sugar and cholesterol. In addition, early detection of symptoms by your optometrist is another key to keeping complications at bay.

Why You May Not Notice Any Visual Symptoms

Sometimes Diabetic Eye Disease develops without noticeable symptoms, which is a big challenge for anyone with diabetes. Because if nothing feels “off,” everything is fine, right? Not necessarily.

The early stages of Diabetic Retinopathy may not affect your vision at all. But even though you can see and read clearly, changes could be brewing in your retina’s tiny blood vessels.

Once these changes start, and the condition progresses, the result can be blurry vision, dark spots or floaters, difficulty seeing at night, or day-to-day changes in your vision. The problem is, if you wait for symptoms to occur before visiting your eye doctor, the opportunity to treat your condition early (when treatment is most successful) disappears.

That’s why we strongly encourage every diabetic patient to schedule regular comprehensive eye exams, even when everything “seems” normal.

As strange as it may sound coming from your optometrist, clear vision is not always an accurate indicator of good eye health.

What to Expect During a Diabetic Eye Exam

During your diabetic eye exam, your optometrist and eye care team will evaluate the health of your eyes, paying special attention to the retina and its blood vessels.

Here are the basics of what to expect during your exam:

Review your health history. Your eye doctor will ask about your diabetes diagnosis, how long you’ve had the condition, your blood sugar control, medications, and any changes to your overall health.

Check your vision. We will measure your visual acuity and compare it with results from previous visits.

Measure your eye pressure to assess your glaucoma risk.

Examine the retina, which may include retinal imaging and pupil dilation, to look for signs of leaking blood vessels, bleeding, and swelling.

Evaluate the optic nerve plus other delicate eye structures, to identify any other conditions that could affect your vision.

Why Retinal Imaging and Dilation Matter

Retinal imaging and pupil dilation are particularly important aspects of a diabetic eye exam.

That’s because imaging technology captures detailed photographs of the back of your eye, enabling your optometrist to identify subtle changes in the retina and its blood vessels that might otherwise go undetected. Monitoring your eyes and the impact of diabetes on them includes studying any changes to your eyes over time. Imaging provides a baseline for comparison.

Dilation widens your pupils, allowing a better view of the retina so your eye doctor can thoroughly examine the delicate tissues that power your vision. After a dilated exam, your eyes will be very sensitive to light and vision may even be blurry, so please bring sunglasses and, if necessary, arrange for a ride home.

For patients with diabetes, your optometrist may recommend eye exams every few months to more closely monitor changes that can impact your vision. Our goal is to provide you with the best possible care for your eyes. Monitoring changes in your condition helps us provide the very highest level of care.

Make Healthy Vision Part of Your Diabetes Care Plan

Living with diabetes means you have to monitor your health every day: Blood sugar, healthy food choices, exercise, and doctor’s appointments are all parts of that process.

Protecting your precious gift of sight deserves that same level of attention.

Don’t wait until you notice vision changes to make an appointment. Many types of diabetic eye disease are manageable, particularly when we identify them early. Together, we can take early action to lower your risk for developing vision complications.