Symptoms

People with diabetic retinopathy are often asymptomatic until macular edema or a vitreous hemorrhage occurs; when symptoms do occur, they include:

• Blurred central vision (due to macular edema).
• Seeing floating spots or cobwebs (due to a hemorrhage).
• Loss of central or side vision (due to a retinal detachment).
• Blindness (a complication of retinal detachment or substantial compromise of blood flow).