Diabetes is a systemic metabolic disease that affects every organ in the body through the action of endocrine hormones and can cause complications in several systems throughout the body, such as heart, brain, kidney and nerve, etc. Eye complications are also one of the common complications of diabetes, which can even lead to blindness in severe cases. Effects of diabetes on the eye Diabetes can affect various tissues of the eye and cause corresponding symptoms. For example, when it affects the innervated nerves such as the actinic nerve, facial nerve and sympathetic nerve, it can cause extraocular muscle paralysis, strabismus, ptosis or incomplete eyelid closure, or even exposure keratitis, dry eye and other diseases; when it affects the optic nerve, it can cause ischemic optic neuropathy and optic nerve atrophy; diabetes can cloud the lens and cause cataracts, resulting in blindness; diabetes can also lead to neovascularization and glaucoma, which can cause great damage to patients. Diabetes can also lead to neovascularization and glaucoma, causing great pain to patients. Retinopathy is the most common complication of diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus has become a major global health problem, and diabetic retinopathy has become the leading cause of blindness in adults. According to the Diabetes Control and Complications Study, the risk of blindness is four times higher in diabetics than in non-diabetics, with 97% of type I diabetes and 80% of type II diabetes developing retinopathy to varying degrees in patients with a history of diabetes of more than eight years. In the early stages of retinopathy, patients can have no symptoms and no significant changes in vision. If detected early this lesion can assist in the diagnosis of diabetes. This is why internists call patients with suspected diabetes to have their fundus checked. Typical diabetic retinopathy presents with numerous microangiomas scattered in the posterior pole of the fundus, small punctate or patchy hemorrhages, and may have well-defined yellowish-white exudates that give a patchy appearance to the fundus. In addition, the central retinal vein is also relatively full. If the blood glucose level of diabetes is not well controlled, or if the duration of diabetes is long, the fundus lesion is aggravated and there is a large amount of hemorrhage and exudation, in which case the vision will be affected. In more serious cases, neovascularization forms in the retina, which can easily bleed and repeatedly flow into the vitreous, forming vitreous hemorrhage. If the hemorrhage is significant, the patient’s vision will soon be reduced to the point of manual or even light perception in front of the eyes. In addition, blood accumulation in the vitreous can form fibrous strips due to mechanization, and the contraction of the fibrous strips will tear down the retina, causing retinal detachment or even eye atrophy, resulting in blindness. If blood sugar is not well controlled, retinopathy will continue to progress and gradually affect vision. Diabetic eye disease prevention and control initiatives Diabetic eye disease, especially retinopathy, if not prevented and controlled in a timely manner and treated properly, will most likely lead to irreversible vision damage to blindness. 1, strict control of blood sugar Strict long-term control of blood sugar is the fundamental measure to prevent diabetic eye disease, is the key to early prevention. Those with large fluctuations in blood sugar values have a much higher chance of developing retinopathy than those with stable blood sugar values. At the same time, patients with high blood pressure should also strictly control the blood pressure value. 2, regular eye exams Diabetic eye disease is important to prevent, regular eye exams are indispensable. With the help of instruments and equipment, doctors can detect eye lesions early before patients develop abnormal vision, diagnose early, treat early, control the development of the disease and effectively protect visual function. In fact, many patients already suffer from eye complications from the time they are diagnosed with diabetes, but early on there can be no uncomfortable symptoms and patients are not easily aware of them, so they miss the best time for treatment and even have serious consequences. Therefore, once the diagnosis of diabetes is established, eye examinations should be conducted and regular follow-ups should be done according to medical advice. Diabetic patients must recognize the laws and hazards of the disease and put themselves under the dual supervision of internists and ophthalmologists for early detection and early treatment to achieve the purpose of protecting their vision. 3, drug intervention Diabetic eye disease once diagnosed, that is, to carry out reasonable drug treatment. Chinese medicine plays an important role in controlling the development of the disease. The advantage of Chinese medicine treatment lies in the diagnosis and treatment, different patients are given different treatment methods. For example, patients with Yin deficiency and dry heat should be treated by nourishing Yin and clearing heat; those with Blood stasis and Blood blockage should be treated by cooling Blood and activating Blood; those with Kidney-Yin deficiency should be treated by nourishing Yin and tonifying Kidney. At the same time, combined with the characteristics of eye lesions, we should give drugs to reduce swelling, stop bleeding and stasis, and soften hard nodules to control the development of the disease, improve the microcirculation status, and protect the visual function. 4.Laser treatment Retinal laser photocoagulation is the use of laser-generated beams to directly close neovascularization or microvascular tumors, reduce leakage, and prevent damage to the retina. When retinal lesions appear as microvascular abnormalities and retinal hemorrhages, retinal photocoagulation is performed to prevent the formation of neovascularization, delay the progression of the disease, and reduce complications (iris redness, vitreous hemorrhage, retractive retinal detachment, etc.). 5.Vitreous surgery When retinopathy reaches the proliferative stage, there is a large amount of intravitreal hemorrhage or mechanized material, even causing retinal detachment, at this time it is difficult for drugs to work, vitrectomy should be performed to preserve or improve vision. A friendly reminder to diabetic patients: In order to protect their vision and improve their quality of life, it is necessary to visit the ophthalmology clinic regularly, monitor the changes in the fundus of the eye, carry out targeted treatment according to the advice of the ophthalmologist, and evaluate and prevent the progress of the disease.