Can I fly after an eye injection?

A standard anti-VEGF injection puts a tiny volume of liquid medicine into the eye. The ASRS lists no restrictions after the injection apart from avoiding contamination that day, and the NEI says most people return to normal activities right away. Neither mentions air travel.

The reason people ask is that eye procedures involving a gas bubble, such as some retinal detachment surgeries, do carry a hard no-flying rule because gas expands at altitude. A routine anti-VEGF injection is not that procedure. If you saw a tiny bubble in your vision afterward, that is the small amount of air that can come along with the injection, and the NEI describes those floating air bubbles as a short-term effect that settles in a day or two.

Still, ask your own retina specialist before you fly, particularly if you had any other treatment at the same visit or if you were told a gas or oil was used. Cabin air is dry, so if your eye is still irritated, bring preservative-free artificial tears and use them during the flight. Schedule the flight so you are not in the air during the first day or two when the eye is at its most irritated, if you can.