What is Uveitis condition?
Uveitis (u-vee-I-tis) is a swelling of the uvea. It is the middle layer of the eye tissue. The uvea is responsible for supplying blood to the retina, the light-sensitive tissue of the eye, which relays images to the brain to interpret.
The swelling of the uvea could be due to an injury, infection, or an autoimmune disease. The cause in some cases has been unidentified. It may affect adults or children in one or both eyes simultaneously.
An early diagnosis of this condition can prevent complications and permanent loss of vision.
What causes Uveitis condition?
In about half of the cases of uveitis, it has been difficult to identify the exact cause.
It has also been deliberated as an autoimmune disease that affects the eyes. Amongst the other causes, the following have been considered:
Side effects of medication
Injury to the eye or eye surgery
Infections such as herpes zoster, syphilis, tuberculosis, toxoplasmosis, or cat-scratch disease
Inflammatory or autoimmune disorders affecting other body parts such as ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn’s disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, or sarcoidosis
Rare cases, even cancer affecting the eye, for instance, lymphoma
Other factors that may aggravate Uveitis:
Alteration of specific genes in people
Cigarette smoking
What are the symptoms of Uveitis condition?
Symptoms of Uveitis condition include the following:
Pain
Sensitivity to light
Blurring of vision
Floaters (dark floating spots in the visual field)
Severe redness in the affected eye
