
Intravitreal injections
11 May 2021
Did you know that a medicine injected into the eye can save your sight?
More specifically, having an ophthalmologist injecting medication directly into the eyeball (known as giving an intravitreal injection) to manage some conditions can preserve vision.
Diabetes eye disease, macular degeneration, and retinal venous occlusion are some of the conditions that can lead to blindness and that react well to injected medications.
What is the process when your ophthalmologist recommends an intravitreal injection?
First, you will have a local anesthetic to numb the surface of your eyeball so you will not feel pain. The anesthesia can be in the form of drops or ophthalmic gel. Sometimes a small injection of a drug that numbs the eye can be applied, this will be determined by the anesthesiologist in the hand of the specialist.
Your eye and eyelids will be cleaned with an antiseptic solution to prevent infection from bacteria that may be near the eye. Your ophthalmologist may place a device called an eyelid speculum in your eye to keep your eyelids open. Then you will be asked to stare in a certain direction and the medicine will be injected into a specific place in your eye. After the injection, your ophthalmologist will remove the lid speculum and clean your eye to remove the antiseptic solution. Also, he will examine your eye to make sure there are no problems or complications.
The injection process usually takes 10 to 15 minutes, from start to finish. You will likely have some eye irritation for a few hours. Also, you may have a small spot of blood in your eye (known as a subconjunctival hemorrhage) at the injection site that usually clears in about a week.