Common Symptoms Of Uveitis
Uveitis is an umbrella term for inflammatory diseases that affect eye tissues, most often the middle part of the eye known as the uvea. Although the name is derived from the uvea, this group of diseases can also affect other parts of the eye and vision. So, it’s imperative to get checked by an eye doctor if you experience any of the symptoms described in the next few slides.
Uveitis could be caused by something occurring only in your eye, or it may be caused by an inflammatory disease affecting other parts of your body. You can get uveitis at any age, but most individuals get it between twenty and sixty.
Sensitivity To Light
A sudden sensitivity to light could indicate uveitis. The uveal, the layer of tissue in the middle part of the eye, is comprised of the choroid, ciliary body, and iris. Most of the blood flow to the to the back of the retina comes through the uvea. The retina is inside the eye at the back and converts the light that comes through your lens into electrical signals that it sends to your brain through your optic nerve. If your eye is inflamed, the blood flow to your retina is restricted, which explains why your eyes might develop a sudden sensitivity to light.
Floaters In Vision
Another symptom of uveitis is increased floaters in vision. They can look like cobwebs or specks in your vision that drift away if you try to look at them. Floaters in your vision are most often caused by tiny fibers that clump up inside the vitreous inside your eye. These clumps pass in front of your retina and cast shadows, which you see as floaters.
While everyone experiences floaters in their eyes from time to time, a big and sudden increase in the number of floaters could be an indicator of uveitis or another serious condition. Anyone who experiences this should have their eye doctor check their eyes to determine precisely what is happening.
Eye Pain
The medical term for pain in the eye is ophthalmalgia. You can experience it either on the surface of your eye as ocular pain or inside your eye as orbital pain. Inflammation or other medical condition, like glaucoma, can cause pain inside eyes. By itself, pain in the eyes is usually not a serious symptom, and most of the time it will go away without treatment. However, eye pain with other symptoms, such as the others detailed in this article, can indicate uveitis. Patients should call their eye doctors right away if they experience vision loss along with eye pain, as this is a potentially serious medical emergency.
Red Eyes
There are many different reasons why individuals might have redness in their eyes, like allergies, irritation, inflammation, or injury. Whatever is causing red eyes, they look that way because the small blood vessels that line the whites have expanded, which gives them a pink or red appearance. If you just have red, itchy eyes, they most likely will clear up on their own. But, if you have eye redness plus other symptoms, like pain in your eyes, blurred vision, swelling, light sensitivity, and floaters, it’s a good idea to get them checked for uveitis.
Blurred Vision
The most common cause of blurry vision is either nearsightedness or farsightedness. However, sudden blurred vision can be a sign of a serious illness, such as uveitis. You might experience blurriness in one eye or both. Some individuals have milky vision, which can be caused by cataracts, but they experience it as blurry vision. Once again, just experiencing blurry vision may not indicate uveitis. As mentioned, experiencing more than one of these symptoms is a serious indication of uveitis.
In the end, whenever your vision changes and you experience symptoms such as increased blurriness, loss of vision, spots, or loss of peripheral vision, have it checked out by a qualified health professional, as they can accurately diagnose if you have uveitis or not.