Lucentis

Lucentis is administered to someone who suffers from wet macular degeneration, which is a medical eye condition that causes a person to lose his vision due to choroidal neovascularisation or abnormal growth of blood vessels in the choriocapillaris that directly results in a leakage of protein and blood underneath the macula or the center of the field of vision. If this eye condition is left untreated, continuous leaking, scarring, and bleeding could potentially lead to severe damage that might be irreversible and cause someone to quickly lose his or her vision.

There have been no known reported treatments to effectively cure wet macular degeneration until recently. There are now newly approved drugs that might be administered to someone who is suffering from this medical eye condition. These drugs are called anti-VEGF or anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents such as ranibizumab or commonly known as Lucentis. These agents can be administered through injection. The irregular growth of blood vessels can be reverted and gradually improve the patient’s vision when the agent such as Lucentis is directly injected into the eye’s vitreous humor.

Lucentis is derived from a humanized antibody fragment that effectively prevents the formation of new blood vessels under the sensory membrane known as the retina. It also stops the bleeding and scarring of the blood vessels that directly affect the central vision of the patient. Lucentis eye treatment can greatly improve vision impairment or keep the damage from getting worse.

A licensed ophthalmologist administers the treatment and starts off by using an anesthetic that numbs the eye and prepares it for the injection. As soon as the eye is good and numb, the ranibizumab is then injected directly into the eye, which can be quite painful. These injections are to be administered once a month for about three to four consecutive months, depending on the diagnosis of the licensed eye specialist. After receiving the first three or four treatments, the ophthalmologist will review and monitor the condition of your eye and prescribe added treatments if they are necessary. Regular check-up of your eyes is extremely important to determine if the treatment is working or it is causing any side effects that may cause potential damage to your vision.

You always need to be aware and pay close attention to your eyes especially right after the first treatment has been administered to determine if you are experiencing any harmful side effects to the treatment. The common side effects of Lucentis are swelling around the eye, heightened sensitivity to light, pain in the eye, irritation and redness in the eye, changes in your vision, watery eyes, severe headaches, muscle pain, itchiness in the eyes, stuffy nose, and seeing flashes of light.

Other side effects that are serious and could potentially lead to dangerous situations are bleeding in the affected eye, weakness or numbness of the body especially on one side, speech problems, and pain or a burning sensation when urinating. If you are experiencing any of these side effects, immediately contact your eye doctor to receive urgent attention and treatment. You should immediately notify your eye doctor if you are experiencing any inflammation or retinal problems after being treated so as not to develop any more side effects that could be extremely dangerous.

Lucentis should not be administered to anyone with an existing eye infection, as well as to adolescents or children. Careful administering of the treatment is required when dealing with a patient who has previously had eye injections. If the patient is pregnant, consult the doctor immediately. Check the ingredients first to prevent allergic reactions to the treatment.

Last updated on Feb 6th, 2012 and filed under Drugs and Medications. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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