Occasional blurred vision after iritis?

[Guest]

I had a bad bout of iritis in my left eye this year, with a long recovery. However, I now note that I've got intermittently blurry vision in that eye. It's odd -- when it happens, it's like a rippled or frosted shower curtain being pulled over just the left edge of that eye. Very distracting and frustrating. But it can disappear in a minute, then reappear later.

The last time I saw my eye doc, he gave me a very clean bill of health and couldn't find anything odd with the eye. I also told him that I still had occasional pain in the eye, but he suspected it was allergies (I have 'em in spades). The pain lasted a lot longer, although I haven't had it in a while.

The affected eye has definitely lost some of its sharpness -- my distance vision has degraded a bit. Not too bad, though.

I guess I shouldn't complain. By an odd and creepy coincidence, a friend of mine came down with iritis in *both* eyes while I was battling my problem in a single eye. He's still having problems. Yikes. I can deal with a problem in one eye, as long as I have a good eye to fall back on. But it would be nice if there was something I could do to improve it.

[Mike Bartolatz]

what you describe might be a vitreous opacity or 'snowball' as described by the opthalmologist. this is an accumulation of cells and fibrin in he vitreous chamber. it is often related to intermediate or posterior uveitis but can also be as a result of 'spill over' from the anterior chamber of the eye. slit lamp microscopy should be able to determine why you are seeing this. if it should become black it indicates bleeding inside the eye.
there are pathogens that can cause uveitis too and since your friend has also developed this could the two of you been exposed to some of the causes? please read through our glossary where you will find many of the 85 or so things listed there.

herpes sx is sometimes related. the virus that causes Mono. can cause this as well as the Pathogen that causes Lyme disease. there are allot of other causes too some are related to STD's others are caused by autoimmune disease processes.

Wish you the best,
mike

wish you the best,
Mike

[Chapps]

*sigh*

Well, I'm going to visit the eye doc next week. I suppose I'm just a little discouraged because there's very little that can be done, no matter what it is. And the last visit to the doctor didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary -- he said I was recovering from iritis extremely well. The vitreous did detach in that eye during the bout of iritis, and it was tugging something fierce on my retina. I had a lot of photopsia--all those weird flashes of light--during this period. Unfortunately, I'm beginning to see it again ... just a tiny bit. I was wondering if the retina managed to get scarred or puckered. But I won't know until I go to the doc.

Thanks, Mike.

Chapps (the original poster of this message -- didn't log in that time)

[Mike Bartolatz]

Sorry to learn of the detached vitreous. this can be a bit dangerous in a younger individual as a tear of the retina can occur. should this occur make sure you get to an ER care center so that laser surgery can be performed quickly to weld the retina back into place. we all have detachment of the vitreous when we are over 60 or so but at a younger age it can cause a tear.
I am a bit concerned about your care since what has ocurred is usually seen in long term uveitis patients. recurrent uveitis should be treated systemically to stop the cycle that is happening with you.

wish you the best,
Mike