Hygiene worries and other nerve wracking points

[maryparry]

'morning all! I had my first eyelea injection in my new town last week (I have moved from the East to the West). It was very painful, much worse than any of the previous 17 or so. My worry is that my eye area was not swabbed clean as I am used to, the door to the 'clean room' was open a lot. I was not given an sos number or any advice as to what to do if things went wrong. The staff were kind but, dare I say it, almost slapdash.The consultant implied that there may be no point in me having more injections whereas the previous clinic were horrified when I suggested that idea. I knew they would be a hard act to follow but am I worrying too much?.What an ordeal we all go through. Thanks for any replies and good luck to everyone from a frazzled Maryx

[Macular_1]

Morning Mary,

So sorry to hear about your painful injection.

Was it painful at the time of the injection or after the anaesthetic drops wore off?

I think you mean at the time of the injection so I would guess they either didn't put enough anaesthetic drops in or they didn't give them enough time to take effect.

If it was afterwards then this could be due to a scratched cornea?

Please see our factsheet called 'Pain in the Eye Following Intravitreal Injections;

macularsociety.org/sites/de...

Do you know why the consultant commented 'no point in me having more injections'?

Rather a poor state of affairs I think.

May I suggest that you call our the Macular Society helpline if you would like to discuss further on 0300 30 30 111 (9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday.

Best wishes

Helpline

Macular Society

[Hidden]

Mary

Given that you had no problem with your previous shots the culprit is very likely to be with the technique or possibly a different anaesthetic. As has been suggested it could also be related to the time allowed following the anaesthetic. The manufacturers claim that one drop should be sufficient but in practice most clinics apply several. I had my 64th just 3hrs ago and whilst individual practitioners methods vary, in every case a few minutes elapse between the drops and the injection. Touch wood, I never experience pain, on some occasions I do not know it has been done apart from the swirl of fluid.

One other possibility is that the injection was just on the margins of the 4mm zone around the lens which is the 'target' area. At your next injection I would mention that you had a problem. The clinic might/should have an alternative anaesthetic, mine certainly does.

[Hidden]

Hi Mary, sending you a hug x I just had my 2nd eyelea inj and although it was fine at the time I later spent hours in pain with an eye that wouldn't stop tearing, it was running down my face like a waterfall!

Others have given you good info if your pain was the inj itself. When I was having Lucentis I also found top v bottom of eye inj site made a difference.

If pain was later like me then I'd suggest it's possible they scratched your eye (my tech rotated the clamp slightly which I think did me) which you only feel once the anaesthetic has worn off.

I have to say. My clinic has been using a different anaesthetic which stings like hell before and after the iodine although inj itself has been ok.

Do you mean they didn't swab eye area clean at all?? If so, definitely complain to clinic manager! For your sake and others . I always use an antibacterial soap to wash my face but try to keep tap water out of your eyes. I think the chance of infection is low so wouldn't worry too much unless pain continues etc.

It's hard isn't it having a new team? Even at the same clinic. If you get the feeling the whole place isn't up to snuff is there a different place you can go? We have the right under choose and book to select where we are treated. I myself am considering this depending how things go at my next review.

Best of luck, hang in there, x

[rosyG]

When I had my first injection today they mentioned that if it hurt I should ask for different anaesthetic drops at the next appt so the new place may be using something different,

[gunning96]

It is very important to have the excess Iodine swabbed from the eye area before treatment. In my experience If left it can cause added soreness to the eyes.