Diabetes is familiar to everyone, but many people do not understand that diabetes can cause blindness. The World Health Organization reported in 2011 that there are 346 million people with diabetes worldwide, 382 million in 2013, and the number is expected to increase to 592 million worldwide by 2035. Currently, China is the world’s largest country with diabetes. The organs involved in the complications of diabetes include the heart, brain and kidneys, but people often overlook the eyes – the eyes that allow us to see color and the world. Diabetic retinopathy is a disease of the retina of the eye caused by diabetes: If we compare the eye to a camera, the retina is like the negative of the camera, and if the negative is broken, the eye cannot see clearly. The development of diabetic retinopathy is directly related to the duration of diabetes. Within 5 years of diabetes, retinopathy is uncommon; 10 years of diabetes, 50% of patients may have retinopathy; 20 years of diabetes, 80-90% of patients will have retinopathy. The early stages of diabetic retinopathy can be asymptomatic: when macular edema is present, blurred vision will occur; when there is neovascularization and hemorrhage on the retina, vision will be significantly reduced or even blind. Repeated hemorrhages in the retina can form a proliferative membrane, and this membrane pulling the retina can lead to retinal detachment, causing irreversible vision loss. At this point in time, doctors can only resort to surgery to solve the problem, but the condition is already too severe and the post-operative results are very unsatisfactory. We hope that patients should not wait until this time to start treatment, but should be detected and treated early. How to avoid blindness caused by diabetes? First, the most basic thing is to control blood sugar, blood pressure and blood lipids. Evidence-based medicine has proved that disorders of glucose metabolism are the root cause of diabetic retinopathy, that is, it is important to control blood glucose steadily and avoid sudden highs and lows. Second, regular follow-up is important. It is recommended that you have an annual fundus examination. In order to have a comprehensive examination and not to miss a diagnosis, your ophthalmologist will recommend a dilated pupil examination, which is not damaging to your eyes, so don’t worry. If dilated pupils do cause some inconvenience for you, there are now ultra-wide angle imaging systems (Oburg Ultra Wide Angle Fundus Imaging System 200TX), which can obtain a large range of photographs of the fundus without dilating the pupils and without contact, detecting peripheral lesions and early lesions earlier, helping to detect diabetic retinopathy and assessing the progress of the disease. Depending on the extent of the lesions in the fundus, the ophthalmologist will recommend whether fluoroscopy or laser treatment is needed. In conclusion, blindness due to diabetic retinopathy is completely avoidable and the condition is completely preventable and controllable. Don’t wait until you are at the end of your rope to see your ophthalmologist and don’t have such regrets.