Diabetic Eye Exams
in Santa Clara

Diabetic macular edema can occur alongside diabetic retinopathy, but it affects a part of your retina called the macula. As fluids leak from your retina’s blood vessels, they can accumulate under your macula and cause it to swell.

Your macula is the centermost part of your retina, responsible for providing the central vision you use to see fine details. As your macula swells, your central vision may become distorted over time, and eventually, you could experience permanent vision loss.

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that affect your optic nerve (the part of the eye that sends visual signals to the brain). The most common version of the disease is open-angle glaucoma, and diabetes could double your risk of developing it.

There are a few theories on how diabetes increases the risk of open-angle glaucoma. One of the most common is when blood sugar affects your retina’s blood vessels. As a result, your eyes may grow new blood vessels that could block your eye’s drainage system, increasing pressure in your eyes and damaging your optic nerve.