Keep Your Vision in Sight

Diabetes Can Cause Blindness

In a healthy eye, small vessels deliver blood to the retina. The retina sends signals to the brain, and those signals become the images we see. 

Diabetes can damage those blood vessels, causing them to swell or leak. They can also close off entirely, and sometimes new blood vessels form. This is called diabetic retinopathy and is the No. 1 cause of blindness among working-age adults. Four in ten people with diabetes have diabetic retinopathy. The damage occurs slowly, so many people aren’t aware of the problem until vision is lost.

Screening for diabetic retinopathy can catch the problem while it is still treatable.  Screening is quick, simple and painless. It can save your vision.

Don't wait! Discuss screening with your eye care specialist or Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System provider.