What You Need to Know About Today’s Sight-Saving Treatments
If you or someone you love is one of the nearly 40 million Americans living with diabetes, understanding this disease and how it affects your eyes is vitally important. November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and the 2025 theme is “Diabetes and Well-Being”. At Collins Vision, we’re committed to protecting the vision and overall well-being of our patients. For those living with diabetes, that means helping you understand how diabetes can affect your eyes — and how our experts can help you preserve your sight.
Understanding Diabetic Eye Disease
Diabetes damages blood vessels all over the body and that includes the tiny blood vessels in the eyes. Along with managing your blood sugar levels, it is important that people with diabetes also have their eyes checked regularly for signs of diabetic eye disease.
The most common eye complication for people with diabetes is Diabetic Retinopathy. It is the most common cause of vision loss among people with diabetes and is a leading cause of blindness in the U.S. today. Diabetic retinopathy typically develops with no warning signs. Damage to the eye can occur slowly and may go unnoticed until there is significant and irreversible damage. Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy include blurry vision, double vision, dark spots, floaters or flashes of light, eye pain and redness.
Macular Edema is another diabetes-related eye condition that occurs when the macula (the center of the retina) swells due to weakened blood vessels starting to leak. This diabetic complication can lead to blurred or distorted vision.
Studies show that having diabetes also increases your risk of developing Glaucoma and Cataracts.
Treating Diabetic Eye Disease
If you are a person living with diabetes, we cannot stress enough that early detection and treatment are crucial to preserve your eye health and vision. Treatment at Collins Vision is highly individualized and will be customized to your personal health situation and unique ocular condition. Treatment can include:
- Lifestyle Management
The foundation of diabetes treatment begins with controlling blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This is the first step in any treatment plan because proper diabetes management can slow or even prevent the progression of diabetic eye disease.
- Intravitreal Injections
Anti-VEGF injections reduce swelling and prevent abnormal blood vessel growth in the retina. Steroid injections can also be used to control inflammation and reduce retinal swelling in certain cases.
- Laser Treatments
Focal laser therapy seals leaking blood vessels to reduce macular edema. Panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) treats abnormal blood vessels to prevent bleeding and retinal detachment.
- Surgery
In more advanced cases of diabetic eye disease, a procedure called a vitrectomy may be performed to remove blood or scar tissue from the vitreous and restore clearer vision.
Regardless of which treatment path you’re on, regular monitoring and eye exams are needed to make sure your eyes are healthy and working as they should. Routine comprehensive eye exams, including dilated retinal imaging and OCT scans, help detect diabetic eye changes early—often before symptoms appear.
Expert Care for Diabetic Eye Disease
If you have diabetes, you’ll want to work closely with your trusted Collins Vision eye doctor to stay ahead of any potential complications that could impact your eye health and vision. Dr. Jason Friedrichs has a special interest and more than a decade of clinical experience in this area.
Dr. Friedrichs is a board-certified ophthalmologist with residency training from the University of Iowa, which consistently ranks among the best ophthalmology training centers in the country by Ophthalmology Times and U.S. News & World Report. He has more than a decade of experience treating medical retina issues — specifically for diabetic eye disease — and has participated in numerous studies related to the latest in injection therapy and laser treatments.
“For our patients with diabetes, regular eye exams aren’t just about seeing clearly; they’re about protecting your vision and catching changes early, before they impact your quality of life.”
Dr. Jason Friedrichs
See the Difference at Collins Vision
Collins Vision is proud to be Southwest Florida’s leading full-service eye care practice since 2004. With three convenient locations in Fort Myers, Naples and Punta Gorda, and a clinical team that is experienced and passionate, we want to be your eye care provider of choice.
From modern cataract surgery, laser vision correction (LASIK) and cosmetic procedures like brow and forehead lifts, and functional and aesthetic eyelid surgery to comprehensive eye care and the diagnosis and treatment of many eye conditions, we can take care of your eyes in every season of life.
Thanks to remarkable advances in technology and treatment, diabetic eye disease is more manageable than ever before. With early diagnosis and personalized care, many of our patients are not only preserving their vision but improving it — offering real hope for a brighter, clearer future. With an unwavering commitment to safety, innovation and visual freedom, we look forward to helping you See the Difference. Schedule an appointment today.