Preventing Diabetic Retinopathy - Diabetic Retinopathy: The Aging Eye Preventing And Treating Eye Disease
Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School
Preventing diabetic retinopathy
One of the best ways to protect your vision if you have diabetes is to control your blood glucose levels carefully. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, and a long-term study following it, found that people with diabetes who keep their blood sugar at near-normal levels cut their risk of developing eye diseases and macular edema by 75%. If you have diabetes, also pay careful attention to your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Levels above normal increase the likelihood that diabetic retinopathy will occur and that it will significantly affect your vision. An ophthalmologist can make recommendations regarding surgical treatments that may save or improve your vision.
| Last updated: | June 19, 2007 |
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Medical content reviewed by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School. Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.
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