While it can be unsettling to think about, having an injection into the eye is the preferred treatment for many eye conditions. This shot allows medication to reach the back of the eye directly and can be used as a treatment in many retinal diseases.
Different Types of Eye Injections
There are four types of injections that are commonly used by healthcare professionals.
Intravenous (IV) injections are the most common type and are used for a variety of medications and blood draws. These shots allow injection of medicine into the bloodstream.
Intramuscular (IM) injections are also a common type of injection. These are frequently used for vaccines or in anaphylactic shock. In intramuscular injections, the medicine is injected into a large muscle like the upper shoulder and allowed to diffuse from the injection site.
Subcutaneous injections are less common than IV or IM because of the limited reach of the medication when injected through this method. In a subcutaneous injection, the medicine is injected just below the skin and affects the area around the injection. These injections can be used for local anesthesia before small surgeries.
Intraocular injections are common in ophthalmology as they are the best method to get medication into the eye which is normally sealed from the rest of the body. These injections are rarely used to treat any condition that is not localized to the eyes.
Process of an Intraocular Injection
For an intraocular injection, an evaluation of the eye health will be done beforehand, and the eye will be made sterile and numbed prior to the injection.
Once ready for the injection, the doctor will use a small needle and inject into the sclera, or the white of the eye.
The needle will be advanced into the vitreous, or jelly like portion of the eye, where the medication will be instilled.
After removing the needle, the injection site may be tender or burn but will not leave a long impact.
It is possible that a small blood vessel will be broken leading to a sub conjunctival hemorrhage. This will cause a very bloody appearance in the eye but is a harmless side effect that will dissipate in a few weeks.
Medications Used with Intraocular Injections
There are three main types of medications which are injected using the intraocular injection method.
Medications that inhibit the blood vessel growth factor VEGF, medications that inhibit inflammation, and medications that inhibit bacterial growth all can be injected intraocularly.
Conditions that are Treated with an Eye Injection
Some of the main conditions that will require a shot or multiple shots of medication in the eyes include diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, optic neuritis, and endophthalmitis.
Diabetic retinopathy, along with other proliferative retinopathies like sickle cell retinopathy, is marked by the growth of new leaky blood vessels. To prevent this blood vessel growth, intraocular injections of Anti-VEGF medications are used.
Macular degeneration can also cause the proliferation of new blood vessels and may require the same Anti-VEGF treatment.
Optic neuritis is an inflammatory condition where the optic nerve is inflamed for a prolonged period of time. Intraocular injections of steroids can reduce the inflammation around the optic nerve.
Endophthalmitis is a bacterial injection inside the eye. This is a serious condition as the only mechanism to get antibiotic medication into the eye is through intraocular injections.
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