 I am Dr. Vanuli Bajpayee, consultant phreco-surgeon and medical retina specialist at Manipal Hospital, Dwarka. Today I will be discussing diabetes and its effects on the eye. Diabetes meditus is a multi-system disorder caused by increased duct sugar levels in the body. Diabetes can affect the eye in various forms. The most important effect of diabetes on the eye is diabetic retinopathy. Retina is the back portion of the eye which consists of nerve fibres. These nerve fibres pick up the images that we see and send them to the brain so that the brain can help us. Retina is the back portion of the eye which consists of nerve fibres which captures the images and sends the signals to the brain so that we can see. In diabetes, the blood vessels which supply the retina are damaged as a result that leads to blood spots, swelling and decreased blood supply to the retina. All these changes can result in loss of vision to various degrees. Early stages of diabetic retinopathy are asymptomatic and do not require any treatment. Later stages may cause drop in vision to various degrees and may need treatment in the form of laser injections into the eye or medications. Last stages of diabetic retinopathy can cause blindness and may or may not be corrected by surgery. So if you are a patient of diabetes meditus, please make sure to get your eyes checked every year for the presence of diabetic retinopathy or as advised by your physician or your eye doctor. People with diabetes meditus are also at increased risk of glaucoma and cataract. People with unstable blood sugars can have frequent change of glasses and experience blood vision. So if you are a patient who has diabetes meditus, please make sure to take very good care of your eyes, do regular eye checkups just like the way you do regular blood sugar level checkups and see your eye doctor regularly.