Uveitis/Iritis

Uvea is the middle layer of the eye situated between the retina and the sclera, the white layer of the eye. It extends from the back of the eye towards the front and includes the iris, coloured part of the eye, choroid layer and the ciliary body. It is richly supplied with blood vessels and provides blood supply to the retina and other parts of the eye. The inflammation of this uvea is called uveitis. It can occur at the back or front of the eye or may involve the whole uvea of the eye. Inflammation may also occur in the fluid present in the middle of the eye.

The most common type of uveitis is iritis which is the inflammation of the iris. It may be caused due to infection of the eye or systemic infection present in the body such as herpes, syphilis or tuberculosis. It may also occur due to an autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis, eye injury or inflammatory disorders such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

Symptoms will include redness of the eye, pain, blurring of vision along with presence of floating translucent irregular bodies in the field of view and sensitivity to light. The symptoms may occur suddenly or may develop slowly over time. It may occur in one or both eyes. If not treated timely it may cause cloudiness of the eye lens, increase in the intraocular eye pressure, and detachment of the retina, fluid in the retina or loss of vision. Thus if you observe any of the symptoms of uveitis, you should consult an eye specialist at the earliest.

Your doctor will examine your eye in detail and may advise treatment depending on the cause of the uveitis. Corticosteroid eye drops are prescribed to reduce pain and inflammation. If it is due to infection, antibiotic or antiviral eye drops are given along with the corticosteroid eye drops. Immune suppressing drugs are given if it is too severe and cannot be controlled with other medications. If inflammation is severe then it may take longer time to subside. Generally mild inflammation goes away with few weeks of treatment. But sometimes vitrectomy surgery is required to take a sample of the fluid inside your eye (vitreous) to find out cause for specific eye infection. It is also used for treatment wherein the scar tissue present in the otherwise clear fluid is removed.

Even after complete recovery uveitis may recur. So on reappearance of any symptoms you should consult the eye specialist at the earliest. Early diagnosis and treatment are important to prevent loss of vision due to uveitis.