Diabetic retinopathy does not usually cause any noticeable symptoms until it has reached an advanced stage.
If retinopathy is not identified and treated, it can lead to sudden blindness.
This is why it is very important that you attend regular screening appointments if you have diabetes.
Other symptoms of advanced retinopathy can include:
- shapes floating in your field of vision (floaters)
- blurred vision
- reduced night vision
- sudden vision loss
When to seek medical advice
If you have diabetes, you are 20 times more likely to develop vision problems than the rest of the population. It is vital that you take any problems with your eyes seriously.
Contact your GP or diabetes care team immediately if you experience any of the symptoms above, or if you have any other problems with your eyesight.
Stages of diabetic retinopathy
The signs and symptoms of diabetic retinopathy become more serious as the condition progresses through the following stages:
- Stage one: background retinopathy – tiny bulges (microaneurysms) appear in the blood vessels of your eye, which can leak blood.
- Stage two: pre-proliferative retinopathy – new blood vessels will have formed in the retina, which may bleed.
- Stage three: maculopathy – vision will be blurred and the macula (the most sensitive part of the retina) will be damaged.
- Stage four: proliferative retinopathy – many new blood vessels and scar tissue will have formed in your retina, causing loss of vision. You may also have some degree of retinal detachment. This is where the retina pulls away from the blood vessels that supply it with oxygen and nutrients.
Read more about how diabetic retinopathy progresses.
