March is Save Your Vision Month
Did you know that if you have diabetes, it is recommended you have a dilated eye exam by your eye doctor every year, starting from the day you're diagnosed? Saving your vision is about prevention and early detection.
Diabetes damages blood vessels all over the body, including the eyes. This damage to vessels in the retina is known as Diabetic Retinopathy- an eye condition that can cause vision loss and blindness. Symptoms may not occur suddenly but could affect your vision drastically over time. Visual changes that could occur include blurriness around the edges of your vision, dark spots, central blurry vision, straight lines that look wavy, and colors that appear dull or washed out. It is especially important to have regular dilated eye exams if you are diabetic to monitor for these changes. Early detection is important to minimize damage to the retina and decrease the risk of vision loss over time. Read more about the research we're doing to develop treatments for Diabetic Retinopathy here.