Frances Ellen Speaks!

Arthritis Of The Eye

Can you believe there is such a thing as Arthritis of the Eye? Well, there is and I’ve got it.

The eye’s version of arthritis is call Uveitis. Some doctors believe it follows an infection of some type, but if you suffer from arthritis, it almost certainly is related. And it’s hard to diagnose. This is the fourth time I’ve experienced an outbreak, but it wasn’t until the third episode that it was finally diagnosed.

…This can be confounding to the patient and the doctor when the infection has long passed at the time of presentation with arthritis or eye inflammation…

Surprisingly, it even has political overtones–who would’ve thought!

Reactive arthritis has, in the past, been referred to as Reiter syndrome (a term that has lost favor because of Dr. Hans Reiter’s dubious past, one of enthusiastically embracing Nazi politics and medical abominations).

Be that as it may, I’ve got it and my symptoms are: painful eye (only one eye at a time, not both), profuse watering of the eye and, consequently, blurry vision, and a painful reaction to bright light/sunlight. The treatment prescribed for me is Prednisolone Eyedrops.

Prednisolone is a steroid, therefore, the treatment is controversial. But leaving it unchecked is a lot more dangerous according to the Mayo Clinic.

Complications

Left untreated, uveitis can cause the following complications:

• Abnormally high pressure inside the eye (glaucoma)
• Damage to the optic nerve
• Clouding of the lens (cataract) or cornea
• Scar tissue inside the eye
• Retinal problems, such as fluid within the retina or retinal detachment
• Vision loss

This is where my post ends. Evidently, looking at a computer monitor only increases the blur.