Are you having vision changes due to diabetes? If you’ve noticed a loss of visual acuity (how clearly you can see details) or other symptoms linked to diabetic macular edema (DME), you may be wondering what treatments are available. DME is a complication of type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes (also called diabetes mellitus). It’s important to work with your healthcare provider and an ophthalmologist (eye specialist) to find the best treatment for your needs. If left untreated, DME can lead to ongoing vision problems — and in serious cases, even vision loss.

This article covers the main types of DME treatments, including lifestyle changes, medications, and medical procedures. Talk with your doctor and eye specialist to learn which treatment options may be right for you.

What Is Diabetic Macular Edema?

Diabetes is a chronic (long-term) condition in which the body has trouble using blood glucose (sugar) for energy. As a result, blood sugar levels rise. When blood sugar remains elevated for a long time, it can cause serious damage to many organs, including the eyes.

High blood sugar and diabetes can damage the retina — the thin layer at the back of the eye that senses light and sends visual signals to the brain. Over time, this can lead to diabetic retinopathy. In this condition, high blood sugar levels progressively damage the retina’s delicate blood vessels, which develop tiny bulges known as microaneurysms.

Microaneurysms can leak small amounts of blood and other fluids into the retina, causing DME. The macula is the center part of the retina, which helps you see sharp details, colors, and objects directly in front of you, known as central vision. If you have DME, swelling of the macula from the leaking blood and fluid may give you blurry, double, or distorted and wavy vision or floaters (shadowy specks moving in the eye).

Diabetic macular edema can cause blurry, double, or wavy vision or floaters.

Can Diabetic Macular Edema Go Away on Its Own?

DME can sometimes go away without treatment, but this is not common. Most people with DME will need treatment to manage the condition.

DME eye treatments work best when the condition is found and treated early. Without treatment, the diabetic eye disease can lead to serious complications, including vision loss.

DME eye treatments work best when the condition is found and treated early.

Treatments for Diabetic Macular Edema

DME treatments focus on lowering blood sugar levels, controlling inflammation, and targeting leaky blood vessels. Your eye doctor will choose the best course of treatment based on your type of DME and its severity. You may need more than one treatment to get your symptoms under control.

1. Lifestyle Changes

Since DME is caused by high blood sugar levels from diabetes, your doctor will likely encourage you to make some lifestyle changes. These approaches not only help control DME but may also help you live a healthier life with diabetes.

High blood sugar levels from poorly controlled diabetes could worsen your DME symptoms. Be sure to follow your current diabetes care plan to control your blood sugar levels, and discuss any changes with your doctor. Try to:

• Take your insulin or other diabetes medications as prescribed by your doctor.
• Eat a healthy diet.
• Exercise regularly.
• Manage stress.

These lifestyle changes can also help reduce high blood pressure, another cause of DME.

2. Anti-VEGF Injections and Therapies

In DME, having high blood sugar levels for a long time can cause your eyes to form a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). This protein increases blood vessel permeability and promotes the growth of new, abnormal blood vessels. Although new blood vessels are important for healing, these vessels are leaky and promote blood buildup in the retina and macula.

Anti-VEGF therapies block these proteins from creating new blood vessels to stabilize DME. For most people with DME, doctors recommend anti-VEGF injections as a first-line treatment. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several anti-VEGF therapies for DME, including:

• Aflibercept (Eylea) and its biosimilars (safe, effective, high-quality versions of biologic drugs)
• Brolucizumab-dbll (Beovu)
• Faricimab-svoa (Vabysmo)
• Ranibizumab (Lucentis, Susvimo)

Anti-VEGF therapies block proteins that create new, abnormal blood vessels to stabilize diabetic macular edema.

Approved in 2025, Susvimo is a refillable ranibizumab implant to treat DME. This implant is placed into the eye during surgery and delivers medicine continuously through a small port, which can reduce the need for treatment visits from once a month to just every nine months.

Other anti-VEGF agents — including aflibercept, brolucizumab-dbll, and faricimab-svoa — also allow for longer time between treatments after the first few monthly injections. However, it’s important to know that brolucizumab-dbll may increase the risk of eye inflammation.

Bevacizumab (Avastin) was originally approved to treat cancer, though some doctors prescribe it off-label — outside its FDA-approved use — for treating DME.

Also called intravitreal injections, these treatments are injected into the vitreous — the clear, gel-like substance that fills the space inside the eye and helps it keep its round shape. Your ophthalmologist will numb your eye and use a very thin needle to deliver the medication. With anti-VEGF treatment, most people’s vision stabilizes, meaning it doesn’t get any worse. Around 30 percent of people even see an improvement.

One DiabetesTeam member shared their experience with injection treatment in their eye: “It’s daunting. I often have to hold my nerve and keep calm about things.”

3. Medications To Control Inflammation

High blood sugar from diabetes can also cause inflammation in your eyes, leading to DME. By controlling this inflammation, your ophthalmologist can reduce swelling in your retina. The two types of anti-inflammatory medications for treating DME are corticosteroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Corticosteroids

Corticosteroids (steroids) are often used as a last-resort treatment option for DME when other therapies have failed. Your eye specialist may inject the corticosteroid directly or insert an implant that slowly releases a steady dose of the drug.

Dexamethasone (Ozurdex) and fluocinolone acetonide (Iluvien) are FDA-approved steroid implants for DME. Triamcinolone isn’t approved for DME but can be used off-label, alone or with laser surgery, to treat this condition. The medicine is injected into the vitreous, similarly to anti-VEGF therapies.

When you’re undergoing steroid treatment, your eye specialist will have you come in for regular visits. This is because corticosteroids may have side effects like glaucoma (nerve damage in the eyes) or cataracts (clouding of the eyes).

Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) eye drops are another treatment for DME. Your eye specialist may prescribe them to help reduce swelling in your retina before or after eye surgery. There aren’t many studies showing how effective NSAIDs are for DME, so more research is needed. NSAID eye drops your retina specialist may prescribe include:

• Bromfenac
• Diclofenac
• Ketorolac
• Nepafenac

4. Surgical Procedures

If medications and lifestyle changes don’t improve your DME symptoms, your eye specialist may recommend a surgical procedure. There are two main types of surgery for DME — laser treatment and vitrectomy.

Laser Treatment

Focal, or grid, laser treatment — also known as laser photocoagulation surgery — seals off leakages in your blood vessels using a laser. This focused beam of light creates heat that burns the vessels. Although focal laser therapy can’t improve blurry vision, it can prevent it from worsening. In general, laser therapy is used to treat DME alongside injections, rather than on its own.

Vitrectomy

Your eye specialist may instead recommend a vitrectomy. Some people with DME have cloudy vitreous fluid or scar tissue that interferes with their vision. A vitrectomy removes the fluid and tissue. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, this procedure can prevent vision from getting worse or even improve it.

During a vitrectomy, your specialist will make tiny holes in your eye using a specialized instrument. First, they’ll remove the vitreous and any scar tissue. Then, if necessary, they may fix holes in your retina or place a bubble of air — or another type of gas — inside the eye to keep your retina properly positioned.

Talk With Your Eye Specialist About DME

If you’re living with diabetes, it’s important to see your eye specialist every year and have your eye health checked. Without early treatment, diabetes-related eye diseases like DME can cause vision impairment or permanent vision loss.

If you’re living with diabetes, it’s important to see your eye specialist every year and have your eye health checked.

Make an appointment with your eye specialist if you notice any changes in your vision, such as:

• Blurry or double vision
• Dark areas in your vision
• Trouble reading or seeing details
• Spots floating in your vision

Your doctor will perform an eye exam and may include additional testing like optical coherence tomography and fluorescein angiography to check your retinas. If you’re diagnosed with DME, they’ll create a treatment plan to prevent vision loss.

Find Your Team

On DiabetesTeam, people share their experiences with diabetes, get advice, and find support from others who understand.

Are you living with diabetic macular edema? Let others know in the comments below.