Iritis

Iritis General Information

Iritis Symptoms

In the case of most patients who have been diagnosed with Iritis, only one eye was affected by this disorder. One can easily observe that the pupil of the affected eye is smaller than the other (this is a quite common symptom of this medical condition). Although this is a severe eye disorder, the eye does not become crusty, sticky, nor does it produce any type of unusual (or disturbing) discharge. The common symptoms and clinical signs that are generally triggered by Iritis are known to appear in a quite sudden manner. Their development is rapid, as it lasts from a few hours to a couple of days. Among the most common clinical manifestations of this medical condition are: blurred vision, increased sensitivity to light, tearing, pain (this symptom is known to range from soreness or aching to intense / severe discomfort), and so on.

Most patients who have been diagnosed with this medical disorder also present eye redness. Other cases of Iritis (less frequent) may sometimes experience floaters (dots or small specks that apparently move in the field of the individual’s vision).  This may not be a complete list of all the symptoms and / or signs that the presence of this clinical disorder is known to trigger. For this reason, we strongly recommend all patients who present any unusual and / or disturbing symptoms to alert their personal ophthalmologist at once. Only a specialized therapist is able to determine whether you are indeed suffering from this disorder or from any other clinical condition (as you may have already observed, the signs and / or symptoms of this medical disease are quite common, as they can also be triggered by a set of other medical disorders).

Iritis Treatment

The detection of the presence of this clinical condition is easily accomplished, as the physician only has to perform an eye examination that employs a slit lamp microscope. The ophthalmologist also has to look for other signs of inflammation (for example, small microscopic white cells that should float inside the affected eye). After an initial diagnosis is set, further examining is required, as the doctor will have to check whether any other parts of the patient’s eye are also affected.

The average therapy that is applied in the case of individuals who have been diagnosed with Iritis aims to find and cure (remove) the actual cause of the inflammatory condition. Adjacent medicines and / or remedies are also employed in order to ease the disturbing clinical manifestations of this disorder or to help the patient deal with any potential side effects that are the direct consequence of their main therapy. For this reason, ointments and / or eye drops are often prescribed to patients who suffer from this clinical disorder in order to quiet the inflammation, ease pain, reduce any potential scarring and dilate the pupil. Patients have also benefited from another form of therapy: applying hot packs is also effective in easing the symptoms of Iritis. However, in the most severe cases, patients have to be administered injections or to adopt a therapy that employs the intake of oral medicines in order to treat his or her clinical condition.

An outburst of this medical condition is known to last from six weeks to two months. While the patient presents the symptoms of this clinical disorder, he or she must be carefully observed by an authorized health care provider; his or her ophthalmologist must keep the individual under direct supervision in order to monitor the potential severe adverse reactions of the medication or the developing of unwanted complications (corneal changes, glaucoma, cataracts, secondary inflammation that affects the patient’s retina, and so on).

Like in most other therapies, the secret to the success of the therapy of Iritis lies in the early (rapid) detection of the disorder and the adequate choice of therapies. If this medical disorder is diagnosed in due time (in its early stages), it can be maintained under control with a simple therapy with eye drops. The persistent cases of this disorder may need the applying of a more intense (strong) therapy. Although this disorder is only rarely a recurrent condition, after a couple of episodes of Iritis, most patients are known to become quite astute concerning the early diagnosis of this condition. The presence of Iritis may cause blindness, but this is very uncommon. However, the patient’s vision can be severely affected while the inflammation of the iris is still present. Steroids and anti-inflammatory medicines are often prescribed in order to effectively reduce the unwanted inflammation. Special dilating drops are also very helpful as they make sure that the eye becomes more comfortable by relaxing the muscle that constricts the pupil of the affected eye.