Intravitreal injections, also known as eye injections, are used to treat specific eye conditions. During this procedure, medication is injected into the vitreous, near the retina at the back of the eye. This allows for a higher concentration of the medicine to reach the retina.

Some common eye conditions treated with intravitreal injections are:
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Macular edema
• Neovascular AMD
• RVO (retinal vein occlusions)
• Geographic atrophy in AMD
• Endophthalmitis
• Uveitis
• CMD (cystoid macular edema)

The following are some of the common medications used for intravitreal injections:
• Avastin
• Methotrexate
• Clindamycin
• Lucentis
• Eylea
• Vabysmo
• Antibiotics
• Steroids

When you undergo an injection into the eye, the procedure typically takes 10 to 15 minutes. Firstly, an antiseptic is used to numb the surface of the eyeball. Then, the antiseptic is applied to the eye and eyelids, and the eye will be kept open using a device called a speculum to prevent infection from bacteria on the eyelid. Your doctor will ask you to look in a certain direction for the injection into the vitreous.

After the injection, your eye(s) will be cleaned to remove the antiseptic. You may experience some irritation for a few hours, and there might be a spot of blood at the injection site that disappears within three days to a week. If you experience prolonged pain or discomfort in your eye, have trouble seeing, see more floaters in your vision, or have sensitivity to light, contact your eye doctor. or have sensitivity to light. If so, contact your eye doctor.This all may sound awful, but it is not as awful as losing sight.

Sources:
www.aao.org
www.medlineplus.gov
www.nei.nih.gov

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