Uveitis Specialist

What is uveitis? 

Uveitis is a group of conditions involving inner eye inflammation. The inflammation can occur anywhere in your uvea — the part of the eye that includes the iris, choroid, and ciliary body. Uveitis can also occur in your eye lens, optic nerve, retina, and the vitreous that fills your eye.

The types of uveitis include:

Anterior uveitis

Anterior uveitis affects your iris or ciliary body. It often causes intermittent symptoms and is the most common form of the disease.

Intermediate uveitis

Intermediate uveitis occurs in the retina, blood vessels behind your eye lens, and vitreous. As with anterior uveitis, it often occurs in cycles.

Posterior uveitis

Posterior uveitis occurs in the retina or choroid layers in the back part of your eye. It can also occur in the optic nerve head. Symptoms usually continue for years.

Panuveitis 

Paneuvitis affects all parts of your uvea, front-to-back in your eye. It accounts for less than 1% of all cases.

In addition to these broad categories, there are many subtypes of uveitis. The Marano Eye Care team can assess your symptoms and use state-of-the-art equipment to diagnose your specific form of uveitis.

What are the symptoms of uveitis?

The symptoms of uveitis can include:

• Red eyes
• Eye pain
• Blurry eyesight
• Sensitivity to bright lights
• New floaters
• Decreased ability to see clearly

Uveitis can start suddenly, causing dramatic changes in your vision, but it can also develop slowly over time.

Although uveitis usually causes symptoms, you could potentially have this disease with no obvious indicators at all. In that case, the Marano Eye Care team usually diagnoses uveitis during your annual eye exam.

What causes uveitis?

Up to half of uveitis cases occur due to systemic diseases such as autoimmune or inflammatory disorders. Other possible causes include infections and eye trauma. But, in as many as 50% of cases, there’s no clear-cut cause of uveitis.

How is uveitis treated?

Treatment depends on the cause of your uveitis, if known. If you have a systemic disease, treatment begins with resolving that underlying condition as fully as possible. 

Your Marano Eye Care eye doctor may prescribe corticosteroid eye drops or other types of oral or injected medications to counter inflammation. In some cases, ocular anti-inflammatory injections can minimize your symptoms for long periods. 

If your uveitis doesn’t improve with conservative treatment, you might need vitrectomy surgery to remove your eye’s vitreous gel. A special implant that releases corticosteroids may be an option for stubborn posterior uveitis. 

Worried about uveitis? Call the Marano Eye Care office nearest you or click online booking for help now.