Living with diabetes requires constant awareness: your diet, your activity, your medications—and, often forgotten—your eyes. In Arlington, where over 10% of adults live with diabetes and many more are prediabetic, protecting eye health is a critical part of managing the disease. Whether you’ve just been diagnosed or have lived with diabetes for decades, your risk of developing diabetic eye conditions increases the longer you go without an eye exam.
One of the biggest concerns is diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of vision loss that affects nearly one in three people with diabetes. What makes it particularly dangerous is its quiet onset: it can damage the blood vessels in your retina for years without symptoms. That’s why routine, dilated eye exams—like the ones we perform at Arlington Vision Source—are key to early detection and long-term prevention.
Why Diabetics Need Specialized Eye Exams
The retina is a thin layer of tissue in the back of your eye responsible for processing visual information. When blood sugar levels stay high for too long, the small blood vessels in the retina can swell, leak, or become blocked. This disrupts the retina’s ability to function properly and may eventually lead to permanent vision changes—or even blindness.
If you’ve experienced any of these, you could already be dealing with the effects of diabetic eye disease:
- Blurry or fluctuating vision
- Poor night vision
- Washed-out or faded colors
- An increase in floaters
- Blank or dark spots in your vision
But here’s the problem: most patients don’t notice anything at all until the disease has already progressed. That’s why a standard vision screening (like the one you might get for glasses) isn’t enough. Diabetic patients need dilated retinal exams with imaging, which allow optometrists to see the inner structures of the eye in detail and track changes over time.
The Different Types of Diabetic Eye Disease
Most people have heard of diabetic retinopathy, but that’s not the only way diabetes can impact your vision. Diabetic eye disease is actually an umbrella term that includes several different conditions, each with its own risks:
Non-Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (NPDR)
This is the early stage of diabetic retinopathy. Blood vessels in the retina begin to weaken, causing small bulges, leaks, and sometimes swelling. Vision might still be normal at this point, but damage is already happening behind the scenes.
Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR)
If NPDR isn’t managed, it can advance to PDR. Here, the retina starts growing new, fragile blood vessels in an attempt to restore circulation—but these vessels often bleed into the eye. Left untreated, this stage can cause severe vision loss or retinal detachment.
Diabetic Macular Edema (DME)
The macula, the part of the retina responsible for sharp central vision, can also swell from fluid buildup. DME is a leading cause of vision impairment in diabetics and can occur at any stage of retinopathy.
Cataracts and Glaucoma
People with diabetes are also more likely to develop cataracts at a younger age and are at increased risk for glaucoma, a group of diseases that damage the optic nerve.
Managing Diabetic Eye Disease: Treatment Options
At Arlington Vision Source, our eye doctors use high-resolution retinal imaging and the latest diagnostic tools to catch diabetic changes early. When necessary, we work closely with your primary care provider or endocrinologist to coordinate care.
Depending on the severity, treatment might include:
- Anti-VEGF injections to stop the growth of abnormal blood vessels
- Steroid injections to reduce inflammation
- Laser surgery to seal leaking vessels or shrink abnormal growths
- Vitrectomy, a surgical procedure to remove blood or scar tissue from the eye
But for many patients, the best treatment is prevention—staying ahead of complications with regular eye exams, especially if you’ve had diabetes for several years.
What You Can Do to Protect Your Vision
The good news? Most vision loss from diabetes is preventable with the right care. Here are the key steps every diabetic patient in Arlington should take:
- Get a dilated eye exam at least once a year
- Keep your blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol under control
- Don’t smoke—or ask for help quitting
- Maintain a healthy diet and exercise regularly
- Notify your optometrist if you notice any changes in your vision
Diabetic Eye Care in Arlington That Puts You First
At Arlington Vision Source, we take diabetic eye health seriously—because we know how serious the consequences can be. Our compassionate team of optometrists combines high-tech vision diagnostic tools with years of experience to help detect changes early, manage your condition, and preserve your vision for the long term.
Whether you’re newly diagnosed or have lived with diabetes for years, it’s never too early—or too late—to take control of your eye health.
Ready to schedule your diabetic eye exam? Book your appointment at either of our Arlington locations to get started.