Is an aching eye normal after an injection?

What's normal

During the injection itself the ASRS says patients typically feel pressure, with little or no pain. Afterward, once the numbing fades, a dull ache or soreness around the eye is common along with the gritty feeling. The AAO says you may have some eye irritation for a few hours, and a qualitative BMJ Open study of injection patients found that some described soreness and irritation lasting up to about 36 hours, sometimes enough to disturb sleep the first night.

The normal pattern is an ache that is present the evening of the injection, noticeably better the next morning, and gone or nearly gone by day 2. It should respond to simple comfort measures and to artificial tears if the surface is the source. Ask your retina specialist before taking any oral pain medicine, since some patients on injection schedules are also on blood thinners or have other reasons to avoid specific drugs.

Typically mild, worst the evening of the injection, much better within 24 to 36 hours. Increasing pain at any point in the first week is a red flag.

When it stops being normal

Pain that is worse on day 2 than day 1, or worse on day 3 than day 2, is the single most important warning sign after an eye injection. The AAO instructs ophthalmologists to have patients promptly report pain, worsening redness, reduced vision, increased light sensitivity or increased floaters, since these may indicate endophthalmitis, an infection inside the eye. The ASRS likewise lists eye pain or discomfort as a reason to contact your retina specialist.

Severe pain, pain with worsening vision, or pain that needs strong medication is an emergency call, not a next-appointment question. Infection after injection is rare, roughly 2 in 10,000 injections in a large French review of 316,576 injections, but it is treatable when caught early and damaging when it is not.