Intravitreal Medication Injection

Intravitreal Medication Injection is a common treatment for neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other causes of retinal disease. Intravitreal medications may help block abnormal blood vessel growth and leakage and reduce macular swelling.

Benefits of Intravitreal Medication Injection

With Intravitreal Medication Injection, your vision may become less blurred or wavy. You may find it easier to recognize the faces of friends and family members. In clinical studies, many who took Intravitreal Medication Injection monthly experienced a significant improvement of at least 3 more lines (15 letters) on the eye chart.

What to expect on treatment day

Intravitreal injections may be required once a month, or in some cases less often. This can be done in a doctor’s office. Before your treatment, the area around your eye will be treated with an antibiotic and your eye will be numbed with anesthetic drops.

After your injection, you may have some redness at the site of the injection. Your doctor may give you antibiotic drops to prevent infection.

Realistic expectations

Many retinal diseases are chronic conditions for which there is no cure. Intravitreal medication injections are helpful in managing these conditions.

Serious side effects due to intravitreal injections are rare. These included serious eye infection, detached retina, and cataract. Other uncommon serious side effects included inflammation inside the eye and increased eye pressure.

The most common eye-related side effects were red eye, eye pain, small specks in vision, the feeling that something is in the eye, and increased tears. The most common non–eye-related side effects were high blood pressure, nose and throat infection, and headache.

With an injection, there’s always a small risk of infection. You should notify your doctor if your eye becomes red, sensitive to light, painful, or if you notice a change in vision.