Protecting Your Eyes

When you have diabetes, it's important to have regular eye exams to watch for the development of retinopathy and to monitor its progression. At some point, you may need some type of diabetic eye treatment. This might include injections, laser treatments, or even surgery. Here's how eye injections are used to treat diabetic retinopathy. 

How Eye Injections Help

Eye injections sometimes contain corticosteroids, but anti-VEGF medications are commonly used drugs for retinopathy. These medications target the tiny vessels in your eye. When you have diabetic retinopathy, the vessels in your eye are stimulated to grow quickly. Plus, they are weak and more likely to bleed. Anti-VEGF medication targets the chemical that stimulates the proliferation of blood vessels and slows down or stops their growth.

Injections Are An Outpatient Treatment

Eye injections are given in your ophthalmologist's office. You'll be in an eye exam chair, so you'll be comfortable throughout. You won't feel pain since you'll receive a topical anesthetic first. You might feel pressure, but that shouldn't cause discomfort. You'll be awake and able to follow instructions on where to focus your eyes.

Your eye area is cleaned and prepped first to reduce the risk of infection. The eye doctor will clean your eyelids and around your eyes and apply the anesthetic. Once your eye is ready, they'll insert a device that holds your eyelid open so you don't have to worry about not blinking.

The injection uses a small needle, and the needle is passed through your eye so medication can be delivered where it's needed. The injection is over quickly, and you'll be able to go home shortly after. You might be able to have both eyes treated on the same day if your doctor agrees to it.

Your vision might be blurry after the injection, so you'll need someone to drive you home. You might have some discomfort for a couple of days, but recovery is usually quick and painless.

Multiple Diabetic Eye Treatments Are Often Needed

You might need to have anti-VEGF injections every month or two until your eye doctor sees the results they're aiming for. The number of injections you need depends on the severity of your retinopathy when the treatments are started.

It's important to see an eye doctor as soon as you know you have diabetes so they can begin treatment at the right point. Diabetic eye treatments can often slow down or stop eye damage, but they aren't designed to reverse eye damage and restore vision. That makes early treatment important for your eye health.

Contact a clinic like Northwest Ophthalmology to learn more.