Treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy: Lifestyle Changes, Medication, and More
Eye & Vision HealthDiabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic Retinopathy Treatment

Diabetic Retinopathy Treatment
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Updated on March 17, 2026
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Diabetes increases your risk of diabetic retinopathy, an eye disease that causes vision problems and can eventually lead to vision loss and blindness. Treatment depends on your symptoms and the severity of the condition. The two main treatment types are eye treatments and lifestyle changes to manage diabetes.

Not everyone with diabetes will develop diabetic retinopathy. While diabetes-related retinopathy can’t be cured, treatment can slow or stop progression of the disease.

Managing Diabetes

If you have early-stage diabetic retinopathy, also called nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, you may not need treatment right away. Because high blood sugar is a risk factor for diabetic retinopathy, managing your diabetes is important to prevent the disease from progressing.

Your healthcare provider may suggest the following lifestyle changes to manage diabetes:

  • Monitor your blood sugar. Keeping your blood sugar within a range you discuss with your doctor can help slow or delay damage to your retinas. Typically, an A1C (average blood sugar) level below 7 percent can help prevent retinopathy.

     You can check your glucose levels at home with a finger-stick device or continuous glucose monitor.
  • Eat a healthy diet. Eating a balanced diet and limiting sugar and refined carbohydrates helps keep your blood sugar levels stable.
  • Get physical exercise. Regular physical activity allows your muscles to take up excess glucose and improves your insulin sensitivity.
  • Follow your prescriptions. Take your medications for diabetes as your doctor prescribes.
  • Maintain a healthy weight. Reaching or maintaining a healthy weight can improve the way your body metabolizes glucose.

Getting regular checkups is also important to monitor your condition and overall health.

Eye Treatments

If your diabetic retinopathy is more advanced, also called proliferative diabetic retinopathy, you will need eye treatments to manage symptoms and prevent further damage. The type of treatment you need will depend on the specific problems with your retina.

Eye Injections

This treatment involves injecting medications called anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) into the fluid in the center of your eye. These help stop the growth of new blood vessels and reduce fluid buildup that causes macular edema.

Anti-VEGF drugs approved by the FDA include:

  • ranibizumab (Lucentis)
  • aflibercept (Eylea)
  • faricimab (Vabysmo)
  • bevacizumab (Avastin)

In addition to anti-VEGF treatments, your healthcare provider may recommend corticosteroid drops or injections to help manage inflammation.

Your eye doctor administers these injections with a topical anesthetic, and they require repeat treatments. In some cases, injections may be used together with laser therapy.

Laser Therapy

This treatment, also called laser photocoagulation, uses laser light to shrink and prevent the growth of irregular blood vessels and stop fluid and blood leakage. A specialist performs the procedure in a medical office or eye clinic.

You may have blurry vision for a day after laser therapy, and some loss of night vision or peripheral vision can occur.

Eye Surgery (Vitrectomy)

Vitrectomy is a surgical procedure that involves inserting small tools into the vitreous cavity in the center of your eye. Your healthcare provider may recommend this procedure if your retina is detached, you have scar tissue, or you have a vitreous hemorrhage (bleeding inside the vitreous).

An eye surgeon performs a vitrectomy using local or general anesthesia.

The Takeaway

  • Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disease caused by chronically elevated blood sugar levels. Mild cases may not initially cause symptoms, but the condition can eventually lead to partial vision loss and blindness.
  • Early-stage diabetic retinopathy might not require immediate treatment. Managing your diabetes through lifestyle changes, like monitoring blood sugar, eating a healthy diet, and getting regular physical activity, can help slow or prevent progression of the disease.
  • Treatments for advanced diabetic retinopathy, such as eye injections, laser therapy, and surgery, can help manage symptoms and prevent further vision loss.
  • If you have diabetic retinopathy, regular checkups are important to monitor your condition. Contact your doctor if you experience any vision changes or symptoms of diabetic retinopathy.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Diabetes-Related Retinopathy. Cleveland Clinic. February 26, 2024.
  2. Diabetes Management: How Lifestyle, Daily Routine Affect Blood Sugar. Mayo Clinic. January 6, 2024.
  3. Diabetes-Related Retinopathy. American Diabetes Association.
  4. Diabetic Retinopathy: Diagnosis and Treatment. Mayo Clinic. August 13, 2025.
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Ghazala O'Keefe, MD

Medical Reviewer
Castle Connolly Top Doctor
Ghazala O'Keefe, MD, is an assistant professor of ophthalmology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, where she also serves as the section director for uveitis and as a fellowship director. A retina and uveitis specialist, she cares for both pediatric patients and adults with inflammatory and infectious eye diseases. She oversees the largest uveitis section in the Southeast and manages the care of complex patients with physicians from other disciplines. 

She is the lead editor of the EyeWiki uveitis section. She is a member of the executive committee of the American Uveitis Society and was inducted into the International Uveitis Study Group. She has served as the director of the Southeastern Vitreoretinal Seminar since 2019.
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Joseph Bennington-Castro

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Joseph Bennington-Castro is a science writer based in Hawaii. He has written well over a thousand articles for the general public on a wide range topics, including health, astronomy, archaeology, renewable energy, biomaterials, conservation, history, animal behavior, artificial intelligence, and many others.

In addition to writing for Everyday Health, Bennington-Castro has also written for publications such as Scientific American, National Geographic online, USA Today, Materials Research Society, Wired UK, Men's Journal, Live Science, Space.com, NBC News Mach, NOAA Fisheries, io9.com, and Discover.

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