Q: What are the symptoms of diabetic retinopathy?

The symptoms of diabetic retinopathy include:

• Fluctuating or changing vision

• This is often one of the first symptoms of diabetes and although it can be very annoying, it is not dangerous to your eyesight. It is caused when the high blood sugar levels lead to a swelling of the natural lens in the eye, which then results in a change of focus or refractive power of the eye.

• Diabetic retinopathy: Diabetes can damage your retina and can lead to a reduction or loss of your sight in two ways:

• Diabetic maculopathy

• Diabetic maculopathy is caused by leakage and bleeding of damaged blood vessels in the centre of your retina.

• Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

In more advanced diabetic eye disease the blood vessels are damaged and are unable to supply the required amount of oxygen to the retina. This leads to the growth of new abnormal blood vessels named Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy, these cause a multitude of eye problems all leading to reduced vision or loss of sight.