Eye Injection in Delhi: Why Is It Needed and What Should You Expect?
Understanding Why an Eye Injection Might Be Recommended
If you're reading this because you or someone in your family has been advised an injection inside the eye, I understand why the idea might sound daunting, even frightening. The word "injection" combined with "eye" isn't a pairing anyone looks forward to.
Here's what I'd like you to know before anything else: intravitreal injections are one of the most commonly performed procedures in modern retinal care. They play an important, often vision-saving role in treating several conditions affecting the retina, and for most patients, the actual experience turns out to be far less intimidating than they'd imagined.
In this guide, I'll walk through why an eye injection may be recommended, what medicines are used, exactly how the procedure is performed, what to expect afterward, the real risks involved, and what it costs in Delhi.
Why Is an Injection Inside the Eye Needed?
For many eye conditions, eye drops work perfectly well, they're especially effective for
problems affecting the front of the eye, like the cornea. But when the problem involves the retina, at the very back of the eye, drops generally can't deliver enough medication to that location to make a real difference.
An intravitreal injection solves this by delivering medicine directly into the vitreous cavity, the gel-filled space inside the eye, allowing it to reach the retina at a concentration high enough to actually treat the disease.
Which Conditions Are Treated With Eye Injections?
Intravitreal injections are used for a number of retinal conditions, most commonly:
Diabetic macular edema, where diabetes causes fluid swelling in the central retina
Wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), where abnormal blood vessels grow and leak beneath the macula
Retinal vein occlusion, which can cause retinal swelling and bleeding
Other conditions involving macular edema or abnormal blood vessel growth
Inflammation inside the eye (uveitis), in select cases, treated with steroid injections rather than anti-VEGF medicine
The specific medicine and how often it's given depend on your diagnosis and what your eye examination and OCT scan show.
What Medicines Are Used for Eye Injections?
Intravitreal medicines fall broadly into two groups: anti-VEGF medicines and corticosteroids.
Anti-VEGF Injections
VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor, is a substance that drives the growth and leakage of abnormal blood vessels. Anti-VEGF medicines work by blocking VEGF's effects, reducing leakage and swelling, and in wet AMD specifically, helping control abnormal vessel growth directly.
Commonly used anti-VEGF medicines include:
Bevacizumab (Avastin) — widely used, cost-effective, with a strong evidence base including large head-to-head trials showing effectiveness comparable to costlier alternatives
Ranibizumab (Lucentis) — one of the original eye-specific anti-VEGF drugs, extensively studied over two decades
Aflibercept (Eylea) — often dosed at longer intervals between injections; India now also has biosimilar aflibercept options available, which has made this class of treatment considerably more accessible
Faricimab (Vabysmo) — a newer dual-mechanism medicine that can allow longer gaps between injections for some patients
Brolucizumab (Beovu) — another newer option in this category
The right medicine for you depends on your specific diagnosis, how your eye responds to treatment, and other individual clinical factors, this is a decision made together with your retina specialist.
Steroid Injections
Steroids are used in select retinal conditions, particularly where inflammation or swelling driven by inflammation, rather than VEGF, is the main issue.
How Is an Eye Injection Performed?
The question I'm asked most often is simply: "Will it hurt?" The genuinely good news is that the procedure is quick and performed under local, topical anesthesia. Here's what the process typically involves, step by step, at our practice:
1. Numbing the eye: Anesthetic eye drops are applied first to numb the surface of the eye completely.
2. Preparing the eye: Once you're in the procedure room, additional anesthetic and antiseptic preparation follows. Povidone-iodine (Betadine) is used to clean the eye and surrounding skin thoroughly, maintaining strict sterility is one of the most important parts of this procedure.
3. Keeping the eye open: A sterile drape and a small eyelid speculum are used to gently hold the eyelids open during the injection, so you don't need to worry about blinking at the wrong moment.
4. Giving the injection: Once anesthesia and antiseptic preparation are complete, the medicine is injected into the vitreous cavity using a very fine needle. The injection itself takes only a few seconds. Most patients describe the sensation as either no significant discomfort at all, or a brief pinch or pressure sensation.
Once it's done, the eye is cleaned, and you can typically leave shortly afterward.
Is an Eye Injection Painful?
For the large majority of patients, it isn't, thanks to the topical anesthesia used beforehand. What's typically felt is a brief pressure or pinching sensation during the injection itself, lasting only a moment. If you experience genuine pain rather than pressure, it's worth mentioning to your doctor, since this can sometimes indicate something worth checking, like elevated pressure in the eye.
Is an Eye Injection Safe? Understanding the Real Risks
I think it's important to be genuinely transparent here, rather than simply reassuring you. Intravitreal injections are, overall, very safe when performed with proper sterile technique, and large-scale studies give us real numbers to work with rather than vague reassurance:
Infection inside the eye (endophthalmitis) is the most serious possible complication, and large studies consistently find the risk to be low, generally cited at somewhere around 1 in 2,000 to 1 in 3,000 injections. This is precisely why the sterile preparation steps described above, particularly the antiseptic cleaning, matter so much.
Cataract risk differs by medicine type: steroid injections are well known to be associated with cataract formation or progression over time with repeated use, while anti-VEGF injections themselves don't typically cause this. A very rare, separate risk with any intravitreal injection is direct mechanical contact with the eye's natural lens during the injection, which is uncommon with proper technique.
Retinal tear or detachment is an uncommon complication of the injection procedure itself.
Temporary effects like mild eye redness, a foreign-body sensation, watering, or a small floater or bubble in your vision for a short period afterward are common and expected, not signs of a problem.
Systemic effects (effects elsewhere in the body, such as on the heart or blood vessels) have been studied given that VEGF has functions beyond the eye. Large clinical trials of approved anti-VEGF medicines have not shown a clear, consistent increase in events like stroke or heart attack with proper eye-specific dosing, though your retina specialist will factor in your broader cardiovascular history when planning your treatment.
Serious complications are genuinely uncommon. Still, knowing the warning signs (covered below) matters.
What Happens After the Injection?
Most people return home very soon after the procedure and resume most normal activities the same day.
Driving: Since numbing drops and a brief antiseptic rinse are used rather than pupil dilation for the injection itself, many patients are comfortable driving themselves home, though if you feel any residual blurriness or irritation, arranging a ride is a sensible choice.
Showering and washing your face: This is generally fine from the day of the injection, though it's sensible to avoid getting soap directly in the treated eye for the first day.
Exercise: Light activity can typically resume quickly; your doctor may suggest avoiding strenuous exercise or heavy lifting for a day if there's any concern about the specific eye or injection.
Flying: A plain intravitreal injection doesn't involve a gas bubble, so it doesn't restrict air travel the way certain retinal surgeries do.
Mild symptoms: A foreign-body sensation, watering, or mild irritation for a short period is normal. Your doctor may prescribe drops afterward and will let you know about the follow-up plan, including an early review when appropriate.
When Should You Contact Your Eye Doctor Urgently?
After an eye injection, seek prompt assessment if you notice:
Increasing or severe eye pain
Significant redness
A sudden or marked reduction in vision
Increasing light sensitivity
A sudden increase in floaters
Flashes of light
A curtain or shadow appearing across your vision
These symptoms are uncommon, but they shouldn't be ignored, some complications genuinely do need prompt treatment.
How Often Will I Need Eye Injections, and For How Long?
This varies by condition and by which medicine is used. Many patients begin with a short series of monthly injections to bring the condition under control, followed by a personalized schedule based on how the eye responds, checked regularly with OCT scans, sometimes extending the gap between injections over time. Some patients need ongoing treatment for years to maintain the benefit. Your retina specialist will set and adjust this schedule based directly on your eye's response, not a fixed, one-size-fits-all timeline.
Does Insurance Cover Eye Injections?
Coverage depends on your insurance provider and policy, but many Indian health insurance policies do cover anti-VEGF injections for a confirmed diagnosis like diabetic macular edema, wet AMD, or retinal vein occlusion, this is worth confirming directly with your insurer before treatment. For patients researching this internationally, US Medicare Part B, for example, covers medically necessary anti-VEGF injections (including Avastin, Lucentis, and Eylea) at 80% of the approved amount after the annual deductible, with the patient responsible for the remaining 20%.
How Much Does an Eye Injection Cost in Delhi?
Cost depends heavily on which medicine is used:
Avastin (bevacizumab), an effective and widely used option, commonly costs somewhere in the range of ₹1,500 to ₹25,000 per injection.
Lucentis (ranibizumab) typically runs from around ₹18,000 to ₹45,000 per injection.
Eylea (aflibercept) has become considerably more accessible recently, following a significant manufacturer price reduction in 2026 after biosimilar alternatives launched in India, now commonly priced in a broadly similar range to Lucentis in many clinics.
Newer medicines like Vabysmo are generally priced at the higher end of this range.
Since many conditions need a series of injections rather than a single one, total treatment cost is planned around your specific diagnosis and response. At Claritas, this is discussed clearly during consultation, based on your actual diagnosis and treatment plan, not a generic estimate.
Eye Injection vs Eye Drops vs Laser
It's worth understanding how these fit together rather than compete. Eye drops work well for surface-level eye problems but can't reach the retina in a meaningful concentration. Retinal laser treatment works by creating a precise, targeted scar or effect at a specific point on the retina, useful for things like sealing a tear or treating peripheral diabetic changes. Eye injections, by contrast, deliver medicine throughout the vitreous cavity, making them the right tool specifically for retinal swelling and abnormal vessel activity, often centered on the macula. Many patients with diabetic eye disease, in particular, benefit from a combination of these approaches over time, tailored to what their retina actually needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an eye injection called, medically? It's called an intravitreal injection, meaning the medicine is delivered into the vitreous, the gel-filled space inside the eye.
Is an eye injection considered surgery? No. It's a quick, in-office procedure performed under topical anesthesia, not a surgical operation.
Can eye injections actually improve vision, or just stop it from getting worse? Both are possible. For many patients, especially with diabetic macular edema, vision genuinely improves with treatment. For others, particularly with more advanced disease, the main goal is stabilizing vision and preventing further loss, since vision already lost isn't always recoverable.
Do eye injections cause cataracts? Anti-VEGF injections themselves aren't typically associated with cataract formation. Steroid injections, used for different indications, are more clearly linked to cataract progression with repeated use over time.
Why would a diabetic need eye injections? Diabetes can cause fluid leakage and swelling in the central retina (diabetic macular edema) and abnormal vessel growth in more advanced disease, both of which anti-VEGF injections directly treat.
Is an eye injection really necessary, or are there alternatives? This is genuinely worth discussing with your doctor. The recommendation is based on your eye exam, OCT scan, and diagnosis, and your doctor should be able to explain what happens if treatment is delayed or skipped, and what realistic benefit to expect from it.
Eye Injection in Delhi at Claritas Eye & Retina Institute
If you or a family member has been advised an eye injection in Delhi, for diabetes, macular swelling, wet AMD, or another retinal condition, I'd encourage getting a detailed retinal evaluation before deciding anything. At Claritas Eye & Retina Institute, every injection is performed with careful attention to anesthesia, antiseptic preparation, and sterile technique, aimed at making the experience as safe and comfortable as it genuinely can be.
An injection inside the eye may sound frightening at first. For many retinal conditions, though, it's a well-established, thoroughly studied, and often vision-preserving part of modern eye care.
Dr. Mayank Bansal MD (AIIMS), FRCS (Glasgow), MRCSEd, FICO, FAICO ICO Fellow, Vitreo-Retinal Surgery, Stein Eye Institute, UCLA , Director at Claritas Eye & Retina Institute, Panchsheel Enclave, New Delhi - 110017
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This article is intended for general information and does not replace an in-person consultation. Whether an eye injection is appropriate for you, and which medicine and schedule fit your condition, depends on an individual retinal examination.
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