Diabetic Macular Edema: Symptoms, Treatments, and More

By Tamila McDonaldLast Updated November 27, 2023

In the United States, an estimated 37.3 million people are diagnosed with diabetes. If you have diabetes, it is important to carefully manage your blood sugar levels with the help of your doctor. When diabetes is not managed well, it can lead to a number of serious medical complications. Diabetic macular edema (DME) is one potential complication. Here’s a look at what DME is, the signs of DME, and more.

What Is DME?

DME is a medical complication that can occur in individuals with diabetes. Overall, around 3.8% of people with diabetes have DME.

When a person has diabetes, having high blood sugar for a long time can lead to damage of the blood vessels in the retina, which is an area toward the back of the eye. Because of this damage, the vessels can start leaking fluid. As the fluid builds up, it leads to swelling in the macula, a part of the retina. When that occurs, it’s called diabetic macular edema.

DME can lead to a variety of vision issues, such as distortions or blurriness. In a worst-case scenario, it can even lead to blindness.

What Are the Symptoms of DME?

There are a few symptoms that can indicate you are developing DME. The most common one is specific types of vision changes. You may also have the sensation of color blindness, worsening night vision, and difficulty seeing in bright sunlight. You might notice that these symptoms get better and worse throughout the day or between one day and the next.

It’s important to get these symptoms checked as soon as possible. DME can get worse quickly and can lead to blindness.

If you have diabetes, you should follow up with your eye doctor for regular eye checks even if you don’t have symptoms of eye problems. In the early stages, DME can exist without symptoms. It’s best to find the problem as early as possible to prevent permanent damage to your eyes, and routine eye checks are the way to do that.

What Causes DME?

Diabetic macular edema is a side effect of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus. When blood sugar levels remain high for a long time, small blood vessels in the body can be damaged. As eye blood vessels are harmed, it can lead to conditions like diabetic retinopathy. Without treatment, leakage from those vessels leads to edema or swelling in the macula, resulting in the condition known as DME. Therefore the best way to prevent DME is to keep good control of your blood sugar levels.

Treatments for DME

The best way to treat DME is to prevent it by taking care of your diabetes. Once you develop DME, your doctor will still want you to work on improving your diabetes control because it will can prevent worsening of your DME and prevent other diabetes complications.

Beyond that, specific medications – including intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide (IVTA) and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) – are potentially used to limit abnormal blood vessel development that could cause more leakage. Laser treatments may also assist with closing leaks or destroying errant blood vessels.

The options for DME treatment are expanding constantly as more research is is completed. Your doctor will be able to guide you towards the treatment that is right for you.

If you have altered vision, then vision-correction options like glasses are also potentially necessary. If you have significant vision loss, then your doctor may recommend vision rehabilitation therapy to help you develop skills for navigating the world and remaining independent.

Next Steps

If you have diabetes and are experiencing symptoms of vision changes or vision loss, you are at risk of DME. Try to should schedule a visit with your eye doctor as soon as possible. If you have diabetes but no visual symptoms, you should follow up with your eye doctor for regular eye checks to detect DME and other visual problems early in their course.

Medical content reviewed by Brittany Stopa, MD MPH.