Diabetic retinopathy is a condition in which high blood sugar causes retinal blood vessels to swell and leak blood and this may affect vision seriously.

Fluctuating blood sugar levels lead to an increased risk of this disease, as does long-term diabetes. Most people don't develop diabetic retinopathy until they've had diabetes for at least 10 years.

Keeping your blood sugar at an even level can help prevent diabetic retinopathy. If you have high blood pressure, keeping that under control is helpful as well. Even controlled diabetes can lead to diabetic retinopathy, so you should have your eyes examined once a year; that way, your doctor can begin treating any retinal damage as soon as possible.

In the early stages of diabetic retinopathy, you might have no symptoms at all, or you might have blurred vision. In the later stages, you develop cloudy vision, blind spots or floaters.

Diabetic retinopathy is classified as either nonproliferative (background) or proliferative. Nonproliferative retinopathy is the early stage, where small retinal blood vessels break and leak. In proliferative retinopathy, new blood vessels grow abnormally within the retina. This new growth can cause scarring or retinal detachment, which can lead to vision loss. The new blood vessels may also grow or bleed into the vitreous humor, the transparent gel filling the eyeball in front of the retina. Proliferative retinopathy is much more serious than the nonproliferative form and can lead to total blindness.

No. Early treatment can slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy, but is not likely to reverse any vision loss.

The best treatment is to keep your diabetes under control; blood pressure control is also helpful. Your doctor may decide on laser photocoagulation to seal leaking blood vessels and destroy new blood vessel growth. If blood gets into the vitreous humor, your doctor might want to perform a procedure called a vitrectomy.

Macular degeneration is a condition in which the eye's macula breaks down, causing a gradual or sudden loss of central vision.

Macular degeneration is usually age-related, affecting people over 65, so the terms are often used interchangeably. However, certain drugs can cause macular degeneration, and some cases are inherited as well.

Yes and the reasons for this are: more ultraviolet light in our environment due to a thinning ozone layer, people living longer, environmental pollutants, smoking, poor diet, obesity, etc..

If you're over age 65, a smoker or have a family member with macular degeneration, you have an increased risk for macular degeneration. Also some medications can cause the disease.

Doctors aren't sure how to prevent macular degeneration. Research suggests that ultraviolet light (and possibly blue light) factors into the problem, so sunglasses could be very beneficial. What you eat also affects your macula. Researchers think that antioxidants (vitamins A, C and E), zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin and essential fatty acids all can aid in preventing macular degeneration. Exercising and quitting smoking might also be helpful.

Early signs include: straight lines appearing wavy, fuzzy vision, and shadowy areas in your central vision. Your eye doctor may find indicators before you have any symptoms, so regular eye exams can mean an early diagnosis.

Macular degeneration is classified as either dry or wet. The dry form is more common than the wet (about 90% of patients). It may result from the aging and thinning of macular tissues, depositing of pigment in the macula or a combination of the two. In the wet form, new blood vessels grow beneath the retina and leak blood and fluid. This leakage causes retinal cells to die and creates blind spots in central vision.

No, but treatment can slow or even stop the progression of the wet form, so the earlier you're diagnosed, the better.

You may sometimes see small specks or clouds moving in your field of vision. They are called floaters. You can often see them when looking at a plain background, like a blank wall or blue sky. Floaters are actually tiny clumps of gel or cells inside the vitreous, the clear jelly-like fluid that fills the inside of your eye. Floaters may look like specks, strands, webs or other shapes. Actually, what you are seeing are the shadows of floaters cast on the retina, the light-sensitive part of the eye.

If a spot or shadowy shape passes in front of your field of vision or to the side, you are seeing a floater. Because they are inside your eye, they move with your eyes when you try to see them. You may also see flashes of light. These flashes occur more often in older people as the vitreous humor thickens and tugs on the light-sensitive retina. They may be a warning sign of a detached retina. Flashes also occur after a blow to the head, often called "seeing stars." Some people experience flashes of light that appear as jagged lines or "heat waves" in both eyes, often lasting 10-20 minutes. These types of flashes are usually caused by a spasm of blood vessels in the brain, which is called a migraine. If a headache follows the flashes, it is called a migraine headache. However, jagged lines or "heat waves" can occur without a headache. In this case, the light flashes are called an ophthalmic migraine, or a migraine without a headache.

For most people, floaters occur as they grow older. The vitreous humor thickens and clumps as we age, and floaters result from the clumped vitreous gel. Sometimes pregnant women see spots caused by little bits of protein trapped within the eye. Eye injury or breakdown of the vitreous humor may also cause spots and floaters. When people reach middle age, the vitreous gel may start to thicken or shrink, forming clumps or strands inside the eye. The vitreous gel pulls away from the back wall of the eye, causing a posterior vitreous detachment. It is a common cause of floaters, and it is more common for people who: are nearsighted; have undergone cataract operations; have had YAG laser surgery of the eye; have had inflammation inside the eye.

Most spots and eye floaters are merely annoying but harmless when they temporarily enter the field of vision, and many fade over time. People sometimes are interested in surgery to remove floaters, but doctors are willing to perform such surgery only in rare instances. If you suddenly see new floaters, or eye floaters accompanied by flashes of light or peripheral vision loss, it could indicate serious conditions such as diabetic retinopathy; vascular abnormalities such as retinal hemorrhages or carotid artery disease, or the beginning of a retinal detachment. The retina can tear if the shrinking vitreous gel pulls away from the wall of the eye. This sometimes causes a small amount of bleeding in the eye that may appear as new floaters. You should see your eye doctor immediately.