By EKalman November 20, 2023 - 3:55am

Injections for wet macular degeneration can help stabilize or even improve eyesight in some situations, thanks to medical studies. However, the idea of having an injection into the eye might be frightening, so our latest expert piece explains what to expect when the drug is provided and what you may experience afterward.

Before injections for wet macular degeneration treatment became available ten years ago, most people had lost substantially of their central vision. Injections of brolucizumab, aflibercept, ranibizumab, or bevacizumab can now protect valuable reading and driving eyesight in many individuals, due to medical studies.

Understanding the diagnostic and treatment techniques may assist in reducing anxiety about the process.

Wet Macular Degeneration Diagnostic Tests
Your ophthalmologist will first do a dilated eye exam and optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging to evaluate whether you have wet macular degeneration. If this is the case, you will very certainly benefit from a series of injections spaced every four to six weeks at first, and possibly less frequently later on, depending on how your eye responds.

Medication Administration
Most doctors will administer numbing eye drops before cleaning your eyes and maybe your eyelids with a yellow iodine solution. They will place an eyelid holder so you don't have to worry about blinking at the wrong time. They will next numb the eye with drops, gel, a medicated Q-tip, or a superficial anesthetic injection.

Many will take measurements of the injection site, which is usually on the lower, outer (towards your ear) aspect of the white part of the eye. The eye doctor will ask you to gaze up and will inject you with a little needle. Nothing, a little pressure, or, in rare situations, some mild discomfort lasting a few seconds may be felt. As the drug combines with the fluids inside the eye, some people notice a network of lines.

What to Expect After the Injection
Many doctors will inspect your eye with a light after the injection and clean around your eye. Most would recommend that you take antibiotic eye drops for a day or two.

Your eye will most likely be uncomfortable, and your vision will be blurry for a day or two, but it should improve after that. Tylenol or Advil are frequently effective pain relievers. A cool, clean washcloth gently placed on the closed eye (no more than 10 minutes every half hour) can also bring relief.

During injection, the needle may poke a blood artery on the surface of the eye. This can make the white of the eye (sclera) seem red for up to two weeks. If the eye is red but not painful and vision is normal, it is most likely harmless.

The injections pose a modest risk of significant consequences (approximately 0.1% likelihood per shot). These are retinal detachment and eye infection (endophthalmitis). An arc of flashing light in your peripheral vision, floating dots or lines in your vision that appear to move with your eye, or a "curtain" coming over part of your vision and obstructing it are all indicators of retinal detachment. Endophthalmitis symptoms include hazy vision and pain that lasts longer than 24 hours after the injection. Call your ophthalmologist straight away if you develop signs of retinal detachment or endophthalmitis.

When patients learn what to expect after the first shot, it gets less frightening. Some patients change doctors, and the new doctor's technique might differ slightly from the prior one. Within a week of the procedure, some patients report improved vision (better than before the injection). Most people's vision will be stabilized.