NEW YORK—This year, like every year, November marked Diabetic Eye Disease Awareness Month. The month served as a time to bring light to the many diabetes-related eye diseases, and to educate patients and the general public on how diabetes can affect the eyes. As reported in VMAIL, the CDC states that approximately 37.3 million people have diabetes, and 96 million people aged 18 years or older have prediabetes—making information about diabetes-related eye diseases valuable to most Americans.

As always, Prevent Blindness compiled a variety of tools to help spread the word. These include podcast episodes, an educational toolkit available in English and Spanish, shareable social media graphics, a dedicated webpage, a fact sheet and a video series. 

In addition, ECPs across the country stepped up to educate patients this past November.

City Eye Optometry in Middletown, Connecticut, launched a blog in November, kicking it off with a look at the connection between diabetes and vision. Image via cityeyeoptometry on Instagram


Anh Nguyen Ophthalmology in Falls Church, Virginia, shared a post explaining how diabetes can “eclipse” your vision. Image via virginialasik on Instagram


In Claremont and Sunapee, New Hampshire, Reed Optical informed patients that early intervention and proper treatment can avert vision loss related to diabetic retinopathy. Image via reedoptical on Instagram


Philip Storey, MD, who practices at Austin Retina Associates in Austin, Texas, shared important diabetic eye disease information in a video on Instagram. Image via austinretina on Instagram


The team at Palm Valley Eye Care and Surgeons in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, pulled together six surprising and important facts about diabetes and the eyes. Image via palmvalleyeye on Instagram


Acuity Vision & Eyewear Center in Coventry, Rhode Island, raised $164 for the American Diabetes Association. Image via acuityvisionri on Instagram