Uveitis
Uveitis is an inflammation of the uvea, a part of the eye that is made up of the iris, the muscle behind your iris (cilliary body), and the choroid (the layer below the retina). This condition causes an achey, but painful sensation to the eye, usually accompanied by painful light sensitivity.
What is Uveitis?
Uveitis has a few names including iritis and iridocyclitis. There are other types as well besides the more common versions, but they all have a similar connection. The ending of the word -itis implies there is inflammation going on somewhere.
Often patients will think they have an eye infection due to the pain, redness, and light sensitivity and try to seek care. In some cases, patients end up at the urgent care or the ER and are just told to use an antibiotic ointment and wait for it to improve.
Unfortunately, these won’t respond to topical antibiotics and require much more aggressive therapy including dilating eye drops, topical steroid drops, and in some more severe cases oral medications or even injectable medications.
Of course when treating patients with topical steroid drops, it’s extremely important to follow the instructions as closely as possible, including tapering schedule. If a patient discontinues their medications too early, they can have a rebound flare up of iritis again. And nobody wants that!
Understanding Uveitis
There are a number of autoimmune conditions that can cause an iritis flare up to occur. Don’t be surprised if your eye doctor starts asking you about skin rashes, back pain, or even infections! And please, don’t be offended if we ever ask you about sexually transmitted diseases. We never want patients to feel accused, but unfortunately many conditions can be completely asymptomatic for patients until they come in with an iritis as their first sign.
In some cases, we’ll order blood work for patients and if we find a positive result, it can help with guiding the future treatments for them while we coordinate with their primary care provider or a rheumatologist.
Risk Factors for Uveitis
While the exact cause of uveitis is often unknown, several factors can increase your risk of developing this condition, including:
Certain Systemic Inflammatory Diseases: Conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis), and psoriasis are associated with a higher risk of uveitis.
Infections: Viral infections (such as herpes simplex or zoster), bacterial infections (like tuberculosis or syphilis), and parasitic infections (such as toxoplasmosis) can trigger uveitis.
Autoimmune Diseases: Conditions where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues, such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, and sarcoidosis, can be linked to uveitis.
Genetic Predisposition: Certain genes may make individuals more susceptible to developing uveitis.
Eye Injury or Surgery: Trauma to the eye or previous eye surgery can sometimes lead to uveitis.
Certain Medications: In rare cases, some medications can have uveitis as a side effect.
Our Commitment to Uveitis Care
Mt. View EyeCare is dedicated to providing comprehensive care for patients with Uveitis. Our experienced eye care professionals are committed to early detection, diagnosis, and treatment to help you maintain your vision.
Ready to Schedule Your Uveitis Screening?
Don’t wait for symptoms to appear. Schedule a regular eye exam to assess your risk of ARMD and receive the care you need.