Under wet macular degeneration, abnormal blood vessels form and leak fluid beneath the retina, potentially leading to rapid vision loss.

Doctors treat wet macular degeneration with injections of medicine designed to stop the formation of new blood vessels. This prevents serious vision loss.

1. Irritation

Wet macular degeneration occurs when fragile blood vessels form beneath the retina (a thin layer of tissue at the back of your eye), and leak fluid and cause macula damage, leading to vision loss in individuals over 50 years of age. It’s one of the leading causes of blindness.

Good news is that wet macular degeneration is treatable. In fact, some may even regain some of their lost vision through timely treatments. Eye injections are the most prevalent and effective means of managing wet macular degeneration; intravitreal injections involve administering anti-VEGF drugs into the vitreous gel which fills your eye’s center; intravitreal injections must be given on an ongoing basis to be most effective.

These injections help prevent new blood vessels from growing under the retina that leak fluid, helping wet macular degeneration patients prevent further vision loss.

Ranibizumab (Lucentis), Aflibercept (Eylea) and Bevacizumab (Avastin) are well-established treatments, with these three medications blocking abnormal blood vessels from growing and leaking fluid into the retina. Omni uses these drugs to treat Neovascular Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Macular Edema as well as Retinal Vein Occlusion which causes vision loss.

Not all patients will find benefit in injectable treatments like cortisone. If your physician suspects you may be eligible for newer, experimental medications, he/she may suggest clinical trials as a means of testing them against those already available. Our retina doctors take great pride in participating in some of these trials and can assist in finding out whether you qualify.

2. Discomfort

Eye injections typically cause minimal discomfort that can usually be managed using over-the-counter pain relievers, with any more serious side effects being reported immediately to a retinal specialist. Although eye infections and retinal detachments are rare events, serious complications should still be reported promptly as soon as they arise.

Eye injections for wet macular degeneration can often preserve and even improve vision, according to studies done in 2022. This treatment works by stopping unhealthy new blood vessels from leaking onto retinal tissue and further damaging central vision loss. According to one 2022 study, injections are highly effective and may prevent or slow down wet macular degeneration progression.

Lucentis, Avastin and Eylea are three medications currently available to treat wet macular degeneration; all three work to stop abnormal new blood vessel growth under the retina (neovascularization). Each has a distinct method for stopping neovascularization in different ways; therefore it is crucial that you consult your retinal specialist when making decisions on treatment options.

People diagnosed with wet macular degeneration will need to visit regular appointments with their retinal specialist for injections of anti-retinal pigmentation injections. These appointments usually include dilation drops, an eye scan and vision tests. Based on this data, your retinal specialist will determine the timing and spacing for future injections.

Age-related macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of irreversible vision loss and blindness worldwide, but is treatable using anti-VEGF treatments such as ranibizumab, aflibercept and bevacizumab. While these medications have proven highly successful at slowing or stopping wet macular degeneration’s progression, patients may still have questions and reservations regarding their treatment experience. To ensure optimal patient satisfaction during this process.

3. Nausea

Macular degeneration can be divided into two subcategories, dry and wet or neovascular; dry relates to cells breaking down within the macula while wet (or neovascular) occurs when abnormal blood vessels form under the retina and leak fluid, leading to rapid vision loss. Wet macular degeneration injections utilize anti-VEGF medications such as ranibizumab (Lucentis), aflibercept (Eylea), and bevacizumab (Avastin), to stop abnormal blood vessel growth from under the retina and cause rapid vision loss. To treat wet macular degeneration injections use ranibizumab (Lucentis), aflibercept (Eylea), and bevacizumab (Avastin).

As injections can sometimes increase eye pressure and result in nausea, doctors will check your eyes after an injection and have drops available if required to reduce pressure quickly. If increased eye pressure doesn’t subside within a short period, more injections of medication may be required by your provider.

Beovu has been FDA-approved to treat wet age-related macular degeneration since April of this year and does not cure it; however, it can slow the progression of disease and improve vision for many people.

At Beovu treatments, your physician will inject dye into your eye to make blood vessels easier to see at the back. Fluorescein angiogram allows them to detect leaky vessels which is an indicator of wet macular degeneration.

Beovu treatments have resulted in some patients experiencing sudden flashes or floaters in their vision, which should be reported immediately to a doctor as this indicates a detached retina and should be treated promptly. Other symptoms of detached retina may include dark spots in the center of vision and straight lines appearing crooked or wavy.

4. Blurred vision

Inflammation at the injection site may lead to blurred vision; however, this is uncommon. A temporary increase in eye pressure due to ruptured capillary may also occur; therefore it’s important to inform your physician immediately if you experience sudden flashes or floaters in one eye as this could indicate retinal detachment.

If you suffer from wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), abnormal blood vessels could form beneath your retina and leak fluid or bleed, leading to significant visual loss and leading to irreparable visual loss. This form is much more serious than its dry counterpart which involves deposits of drusen accumulating over time in your macula.

Up until recently, laser treatment was the only viable treatment option for macular degeneration research. But, thanks to recent advances, intraocular injections with medication such as Avastin, Lucentis or Eylea have proven highly successful at decreasing visual loss caused by wet AMD.

After your doctor has administered an eye drop, they will use special lighting to pinpoint abnormal blood vessels leaking and inject more medication into your eye to stop further leakage. They may also take steps to aid healing.

Treatment takes about 30 minutes and you should remain awake during it. Anesthetic eye drops will be administered to ensure no discomfort arises during this procedure, while you’ll wear a contact lens to help focus the laser beam onto the part of your eye that needs treating.

5. Dry eyes

Lucentis (Ranibizumab) can be administered sub-conjunctivally to block activity of a protein that promotes new blood vessel formation, acting as a treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration which occurs when abnormal blood vessels grow into the macula and leak fluid into retina, leading to blurred or wavy vision and sometimes blurring altogether.

Wet AMD can develop rapidly and lead to blindness without intervention. Therefore, it is imperative that it is diagnosed and treated as soon as possible; your optometrist may use photography or imaging techniques such as Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging techniques to diagnose wet AMD before referring you for injections at an eye hospital specialist if required.

Anti-VEGF injections can be an extremely effective means of halting further loss of central vision. The drugs work by blocking vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a protein which stimulates abnormal blood vessel growth within the eye. Furthermore, injections reduce fluid production within the eye as well as leaky vessels which contribute to accumulation of fluid buildup which damages light sensitive retinal cells.

Though injections do not treat wet macular degeneration directly, they may help stop further vision loss and enhance quality of life. Regular visits for regular injections will ensure no further sight is lost.

Side effects from injections may occur after treatment; however, most are mild and short-lived. Most can be addressed using over-the-counter pain relievers while your physician will likely recommend eye drops to ease any discomfort. More serious issues, such as eye infection or detached retina are incredibly rare.