Treating DME first relies on getting your diabetes under control. With this foundation, you can then turn to treatments that target the macular edema caused by diabetes.²

The main eye treatment for DME is using anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF), a biologic medicine.

Biologic medicines refer to medicines made from a biological source, such as living cells and organisms. “Biosimilars” is another term that may be used when talking about biologics. Biosimilars are biological medicines which are highly similar to the original biologic reference medicine in terms of quality, safety and efficacy. This means there is no clinically meaningful difference to the original biologic medicine.

These biologic medications are given as an injection into your eye, which is called an intravitreal injection. An antiseptic solution will be used to clean your eye, and anaesthetic drops will be used to numb it. You will be asked to look in one direction, and the injection is given in the opposite corner, so you are unlikely to see the needle, and it only takes a few seconds. The majority of patients will find this procedure painless, but some people may develop pain or discomfort. In some cases, you may develop an allergic reaction, but this is rare.³ 

Alternative eye treatments  

There are also treatment options for managing macular oedema that are specific to DME and usually recommended when the general macular oedema treatment (anti-VEGF injections) is unsuccessful. In this scenario, DME patients may be offered a steroid implant. These are given through an injection and work by reducing inflammation in the macula.¹

In some circumstances, laser eye treatment is given, which works by preventing the growth of new blood vessels and preventing damaged vessels from leaking.^1,4  

These include:⁵ 

• laser photocoagulation
• photodynamic therapy 

Managing diabetes

As mentioned, the first step in treating DME is controlling your diabetes, as well as any other risk factors that could increase the rate of macular damage and counteract macular oedema treatments.²

To manage your diabetes and create a suitable context for macular oedema treatments to be effective, you will be asked to:^6,7

• Check your blood glucose (sugar) regularly
• Count carbohydrate content in food and drink
• Conform to your diabetes treatment plan
• Watch out for signs of hypoglycaemia
• Consult a doctor to change your treatment plan if it is not effectively managing your symptoms
• Attend annual diabetes check-ups, importantly checking your weight, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, and blood pressure
• Have an HbA1c test every 3 to 6 months

You can take control of your own health with DME, by using the therapeutic treatments your doctor recommends, as well as remaining vigilant to changes in your health and reporting these to your doctor or optician when attending regular diabetic eye checks. 

References

1. Macular Society. Diabetic macular oedema (DMO). Available at: https://www.macularsociety.org/macular-disease/macular-conditions/diabetic-macular-oedema/. Last accessed April 2025.
2. NHS. Diabetic macular oedema treatment pathway. Available at: https://mft.nhs.uk/app/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/REH-217-Diabetic-Macular-Oedema-1.pdf. Last accessed April 2025.
3. Macular Society. Macular disease treatments. Available at: https://www.macularsociety.org/diagnosis-treatment/treatments/. Last accessed July 2025.
4. NHS. Living with type 1 diabetes. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/type-1-diabetes/living-with/. Last accessed July 2025.
5. NHS. Type 2 Diabetes Treatment. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/type-2-diabetes/treatment/. Last accessed July 2025.
6. Macular Society. Treatments. Available at: https://www.macularsociety.org/diagnosis-treatment/treatments/. Last accessed May 2025.
7. Hobbs SD, Tripathy K, Pierce K. Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; August 11, 2024.