Uveitis is a common eye disease in the community. Uveitis can cause symptoms such as eye pain, redness, and blurred vision. Untreated uveitis causes serious complications in the patient. What does uveitis mean? What causes uveitis? How is uveitis treated? You can find the answers to all these questions in the rest of the article.
What is Uveitis?
Uveitis is the inflammation of the uvea layer in the middle of the eye. uvea; It is located between the sclera layer on the outermost part of the eye and the retina layer on the inside. The uvea contains many blood vessels and these vessels provide nutrition to the retina layer, which contains the nerves that provide vision in the eye.
The structures called choroid, ciliary body and iris in the eye are also located in the uvea layer. The ciliary body changes the shape of the lens of the eye, allowing it to adapt to far and near vision. The iris forms the colored part of the eye. The job of the iris is to regulate the amount of light entering the eye by enlarging or contracting the pupil.
Inflammation of the ciliary body and iris, which are part of the uvea, is also called iridocyclitis. The choroid layer, another part of the uvea, also contains blood vessels that feed the retina. Inflammation of the choroid is called choroiditis.
Uveitis disease can be divided into different types according to the area of inflammation in the eye. Types of uveitis:
Anterior Uveitis: In this case, which is also called anterior uveitis, an inflammation occurs in the anterior part of the uvea layer. Because the iris is the anterior portion of the uvea, this inflammation usually affects the iris. The condition in which the iris becomes inflamed is defined as 'iritis'. Iritis can occur in one eye, or it can affect both eyes. Iritis is the most common type of uveitis in the community. Anterior uveitis is usually seen in people without additional disease.
Middle Uveitis: This condition is also known as intermediate uveitis. In middle uveitis, the middle part of the uvea, that is, where the iris and ciliary body is located, is affected. The inflammation here is also called iridocyclitis. Moderate uveitis is usually seen in people who do not have any additional disease, but intermediate uveitis may develop in those with an autoimmune disease such as multiple sclerosis (MS). part is inflamed. In this region, the choroid is located and inflammation affects the choroid. Since the choroid is home to the vessels that feed the retina, the inflammation that occurs here can cause damage to the retina. Posterior uveitis usually causes more serious problems than other types of uveitis. Posterior uveitis may develop due to conditions such as infection and autoimmune disease. Among the uveitis types, posterior uveitis is rarer than the others.
Pan-Uveitis: All parts of the uvea are affected in this type of uveitis. Therefore, features of other uveitis types can be seen together in pan-uveitis. Behçet's disease can be given as an example of diseases that cause pan-uveitis.
Moderate, posterior and pan-uveitis types usually lead to more serious symptoms. In addition, these species can cause recurrent uveitis. Recurrent uveitis progresses in attacks. In other words, first there is an attack of uveitis in the eye, and then the symptoms are relieved or disappear. Then there is an attack of uveitis again. This cycle continues like this.
What Causes Uveitis in the Eye?
It is not always easy to find the underlying cause in patients diagnosed with uveitis. However, when the condition leading to the development of uveitis is determined; the most common ones are infections, autoimmune diseases and traumas.
Autoimmune diseases; It occurs when the immune system perceives the body's own cells as foreign and attacks these cells. As a result, some parts of the body are damaged. In some autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the uvea of the eye, causing uveitis. Autoimmune diseases that cause uveitis are as follows:
- Rhomatoid arthritis
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Psoriasis
- Ulcerative Colitis
- Kawasaki disease
- Behçet's disease
- Sarcoidosis
- Crohn's disease
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
- Herpes
- Syphilis
- Tuberculosis
- Toxoplasmosis
- Histoplasmosis
- West Nile virus
- AIDS
- Can be counted as CMV (cytomegalovirus) retinitis.
What are the Symptoms of Uveitis in the Eye?
Symptoms of uveitis can be seen in one eye or in both eyes. The symptoms of uveitis can progress rapidly and become noticeable in a short time. Common symptoms of uveitis are as follows:
- Blurred vision
- Red eye
- Sensitivity to light (photophobia)
- Pain in the eye
- Seeing flying objects
The most common symptoms in middle uveitis are blurred vision and floating objects. In middle uveitis, there is usually no pain in the eye.
In posterior uveitis, decreased vision and even vision loss may occur in advanced stages.
Uveitis does not cause any symptoms in some people. Signs of uveitis in these individuals can be detected during routine eye examination.
How is Uveitis Treatment?
In order to diagnose uveitis, questions about the patient's complaints are first asked. For example, the patient may be asked questions about when his symptoms started or what are the situations that increase or decrease their severity. The answers to these questions may contain important clues for diagnosing uveitis.
The next step for the diagnosis of uveitis is examination. In the examination
- The reflex in the pupils is checked by shining a light into the patient's eyes.
- Visual acuity is evaluated. For this evaluation, the patient is asked to read the letters or numbers on the card from a certain distance. Before this procedure, eye drops with narcotic properties can be dripped into the patient's eyes.
- The structures in the anterior region of the eye are examined by magnifying them under light with a biomicroscope.
- The fundus examination is performed with a method called fundoscopy. Before this method, a drop is applied to the eye that dilates the pupils. Then, with the help of a special device (fundoscope), the procedure behind the eye is done.
The main goal for the treatment of eye uveitis is to reduce inflammation and improve vision. If uveitis has developed due to another disease, the underlying condition should be treated first.
Firstly, drugs are used in the treatment of uveitis. These drugs can be classified as:
Inflammation Reducing: Patients can be given eye drops containing anti-inflammatory drugs such as corticosteroids. However, in cases where the back of the eye is affected, the effectiveness of the drops is reduced. In such cases, alternatives such as corticosteroid injection around the eyes or the use of oral corticosteroid tablets may be preferred.
Spasm Controllers: In the treatment, agents can be used to relieve eye pain by reducing spasms in the iris and ciliary body. Strong immunosuppressive drugs can be started in the treatment of uveitis that occurs due to corticosteroids and cannot be controlled with corticosteroids.
Medications are often sufficient for the treatment of eye uveitis. However, in uveitis that cannot be treated with drugs and causes serious complications, surgical procedures can be considered as a treatment option.
Untreated uveitis; It can lead to very serious complications such as glaucoma, cataract, optic nerve damage, permanent vision loss.
Uveitis is a common eye disease. Uveitis often does not cause any serious problems and can be cured with simple treatment. However, especially recurrent or chronic uveitis can cause serious health problems up to vision loss. For this reason, it would be beneficial for people who show symptoms of uveitis to consult an ophthalmologist without delay and have the necessary controls done.
You can ask the questions you are wondering about uveitis to the expert team of Group Florence Nightingale Hospitals and ask for suggestions about your question. You can use the contact form on our website to reach us. your.
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