I'm an Odd Bird!
I saw on FB an article about betadine causing issues with shots in the eye, so here is my story. 30 years ago I woke up on my birthday with a blind spot in my right eye. The next day at my new retina doctor's office I had laser surgery to stop the bleeding behind my retina.
7 laser surgeries total
I was given a choice of using the laser or the blind spot, the bleeding was creating, could continue, and possibly consume the entire vision in that eye. I opted to continue, knowing what sight I had lost would never come back. Think of a spot welder sealing up the area. 7 laser surgeries total, in both eyes occurred before Avastin came along as a treatment for wet MD and Ocular Histoplasmosis, my condition. I had blind spots in both eyes but had retained my central vision in my left eye.
Miserable burning after the betadine drops
Years went by and a new doctor came to the practice and soon after I started having injections of Avastin and never saw the laser again. It was a miracle to me but came with the side effect of burning eyes for maybe 4 hours after the numbing wore off. It was miserable. I asked him to use another antiseptic but he refused as betadine was the best. This went on for 30 some shots as I got one every time I noticed a change or the scan showed a leaky spot.
Getting along wonderfully with the swab method
I got on the internet and found that some retina guys had gone to using a swab with betadine on it, instead of 4 or 5 drops like my guy used. My guy laid me back in the chair applied a drop or 2 while getting the Avastin ready etc. Put another drop in, gave me the shot, and one more drop for good measure. It was my opinion the betadine seeped around the edge of my eye and it couldn't be washed out. Last December I quit the practice of 30 years after deciding it couldn't get any worse someplace else. I found a new doctor, closer to home, who uses the swab method and we are getting along wonderfully!
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