A Closer Look at Eye Injections for Retinal Vascular Disease

Losing your sight is something everyone dreads, yet vision loss is surprisingly common. Statistical data from the American Foundation for the Blind show that, as recently as 2023, 51.9 million adults reported vision problems, many of whom experienced these issues even when wearing glasses. The prevalence was slightly higher in the male population than in the female population (29.5 million versus 22.4 million). The effects of vision problems can complicate your whole life, both at work and at home.

Retinal diseases affect a vital part of your eye that enables sharp, focused vision, and retinal vascular diseases can cause permanent damage to your ability to see. While there are many solutions for managing the complications of this condition, eye injections provide a direct way to administer the medications necessary to achieve results. Let’s explore the benefits of this treatment by examining retinal diseases, their signs and causes, and how the injections work.

Dr. Jeffrey Rapkin and his medical staff at Retinal Consultants of Muncie are here to help the Muncie, Indiana, residents with eye problems preserve their vision.

Facts about retinal vascular disease

Your retina is the part of your eye through which light passes to focus on what you see. Anything that damages it will make the information that goes from it to your optic nerve and brain harder to discern, and enough damage can cause blindness. Some examples of diseases that harm your retinas include:

• Diabetic retinopathy: damage to retinal veins causes leaking, leading to reduced vision and blindness

• Retinal detachment: when the tissue supporting your retina loosens or tears away entirely

• Retinal vein occlusion: blockages in retinal blood vessels that damage vision

• Macular degeneration: a disease affecting the center of your retina from fluid buildup or drusen deposits

• Retinitis pigmentosa: an inherited disease where you lose your peripheral vision

An estimated 11.8 million people in America deal with some form of retinal disease, with diabetic retinopathy being a common problem and macular degeneration affecting more people as they get older.

Risk factors and symptoms

Your chances of developing these diseases are higher if you have eye injuries, inherit the genes from your parents or deal with medical problems like diabetes or hypertension. Other possible risks include smoking, obesity, severe nearsightedness, and some medications like hydroxychloroquine and pentosan polysulfate.

If you have a retinal vascular disease, signs such as seeing flashes of light, sudden floaters, changes in vision, blurriness, reduced peripheral vision, alterations in color perception, night blindness, and difficulties adjusting to light are more likely to occur.

How eye injections can help

We can help treat retinal diseases in several ways, including laser therapies, watchful waiting in the early stages, and various surgeries. However, eye injections deliver the necessary medications directly to the affected area, helping to manage problems quickly. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (or anti-VEGF for short) injections work to reduce the formation of abnormal blood vessels that occur with diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, retinal vein occlusion, and wet macular degeneration. 

It also treats an extreme form of nearsightedness called myopic choroidal neovascularization. Corticosteroid eye injections can also be used to relieve inflammation, pain, redness, and irritation from these conditions.

Treating eye problems, such as retinal vascular diseases, can help keep your vision working better for longer. Make an appointment with Dr. Rapkin and the Retina Consultants of Muncie team today to preserve your sight.