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This podcast is presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC – safer, healthier people.

Diabetes is the number one cause of vision loss in working age Americans, but in most cases, blindness from diabetic retinopathy is preventable. All health care professionals treating people with diabetes should give the same message: "Visit your eye doctor for a dilated eye exam once a year, even if you have no symptoms." It's a fact. A person can have 20/20 vision and still have diabetic retinopathy. Are your patients at risk for blindness from undiagnosed eye disease? Without a dilated eye exam by an optometrist or ophthalmologist, you just won't know. The eye care professional may recommend an eye exam more or less often than once a year, but that decision can only be made after a comprehensive examination.

The National Diabetes Education Program, or NDEP, has information and free educational materials for health care professionals and for people with diabetes. Visit www.YourDiabetesInfo.org or call toll-free, 1-888-693-NDEP.

For the most accurate health information, visit www.cdc.gov or call 1-800-CDC-INFO, 24/7.