Is there a link between uveitis and glaucoma?
Uveitis is inflammation inside the eye which can happen in any portion of the eye. This means that inflammation can be present in either the front of the eye or the back of the eye or in both the front as well as the back of the eye.
Uveitis can affect people at any age. It can affect children as well as adults. In certain situations, uveitis can affect the eye only once while in other circumstances uveitis can occur repeatedly. The eye specialist seeing you must determine the cause of the uveitis as well as decide whether the chances are that this uveitis may occur again.
The part of the eye where fluid normally drains out of the eye which is called the trabecular meshwork can be damaged by the presence of inflammation inside the eye. When this trabecular meshwork which is a sieve-like structure inside the eye. This part in area of the eye called the trabecular meshwork is damaged the fluid called aqueous humour that needs to exit the eye as nature has designed for it to do finds increased resistance to its passage. High pressure results which can cause damage to the optic nerve as well as damage to the visual field.
It is also interesting to note that one of the common treatments that are used for uveitis which is the use of steroids either topically in the form of drops or the use of steroids that are injected into the eye can also cause the intraocular pressure to go up by causing changes to be present in the drainage meshwork of the eye. Hence, inflammation itself as well as its treatment using steroids can enhance the risk of glaucoma. It is very important to not self-prescribe medications in this case and to remain under the careful follow up of your eye specialist.
Patients often ask us the question that if they have uveitis what is the chance that they will also go on to develop glaucoma. The answer to this question is that roughly 10 to 20% of people with uveitis have uveitis that can cause them to and to have an elevation of intraocular pressure. The risk for elevation and intraocular pressure is higher in those individuals in whom either the attacks are recurrent which means that you can have repeated attacks or that the degree of the uveitis is noted to be severe.
What can be the signs of uveitic glaucoma?
Patients with uveitic glaucoma can experience eye redness, headaches, nausea. They may also complain of seeing haloes or experience trouble with tolerating lights. They may complain of pain or experience floaters that are present in the eye or haze or fuzziness in their vision. Some people may know not notice any of these things and may be diagnosed only by way of a derailed eye exam. This is why individuals who have uveitis will necessarily need to be examined by an eye specialist and have and their eye pressure monitored.
Untreated or uncontrolled glaucoma can cause damage to the eye. Uveitic glaucoma can cause permanent damage to many parts of the eye including and most importantly the drainage area of the eye as well as the optic nerve. Uveitic glaucoma is treated not only by controlling the intraocular pressure that is causing damage to the optic nerve but also by identifying and getting rid of the problem which is causing inflammation inside the eye. Treatment of inflammation in the eye can be either a complex or simple procedure using either drops you injections to the eye and or the use of medications in the form of pills. Many of these medications are aimed at treating inflammation inside the eye or inflammation that can be present in other areas of the body and can also be affecting the eye in addition to other areas of the human body. Laser treatment can also be done to get the drainage area to work or surgery can also be employed to use existing pathways or create new pathways where the original pathways are no longer allowing adequate drainage to take place.
At the Eye Center- Dr. Mahnaz Naveed Shah & Associates, located in Karachi, our nine exceptionally skilled and experienced eye specialists can optimally attend to all your eye care needs from the simplest to the most complex problems. Dr. Mahnaz Naveed Shah is our United States fellowship trained and US Board Certified glaucoma and anterior segment disease specialist who has over 20 years of experience detailing all types of medical and surgical glaucoma problems. Our Eye Specialists and Eye Surgeons are considered to be amongst the best in Karachi and pride ourselves on the excellent and up to date care we can team together and provide our patients in a state of the art purpose built environment.
Please call u sat 03041119544 or visit our google business page or our website at www.surgicaleyecenter.org to make an appointment.