Be an eye catcher
See your eye doctor yearly for a comprehensive dilated eye exam. "If we catch eye changes early, we can prevent further damage," Dr. Aloi says. "Diabetes is still the leading cause of adult blindness and it is largely preventable." Unfortunately, this message doesn't seem to be getting through. Some 58 percent of people with diabetes did not have regular follow-up eye exams, according to research presented at the 2016 annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Chicago. These vision screens can catch diabetic retinopathy, which is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina and often has no symptoms. Other diabetes-related eye diseases that can be spotted during a yearly eye exam include macular edema (the buildup of fluid in the macula, a small area in the retina), cataracts (clouding of the lens), and glaucoma (a disease affecting the main nerve in the eye)