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Iritis & Salmonella Poisoning

Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 1:10 pm
by smallen15
I have experienced 5 episodes of Iritis in the past year. And it all began in Feb. 2007 when I ate some of that tainted Peter Pan Peanut Butter. I became very ill after eating it and went to the ER 3 times because of it. I also developed a nasty eye infection in my right eye. Because I was at school and went to walk-in eye doctors, it wasn't discovered that I had Iritis until April of 2007.

Did anyone elses recurrent iritis develop after having salmonella poisoning, specifically from the peanut butter?

UPDATE

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:18 pm
by smallen15
Just wanted to give an update on my situation. I just recieved a call from my eye doctor who got the results of my bloodwork back. The gene HLA-B27 is present in my body. So he said I am more prone to developing Ankylosing Spondylitis. He also said that my white blood cells were borderline high but that was nothing to be concerned about. So, I guess I finally have an answer to why I keep having this eye issue.

Bad news is he said I'll always have to deal with inflammation problems and it causes the iritis to be more stubborn to overcome.

Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 5:34 pm
by Mike Bartolatz
Sorry you have HLA B27 related uveitis. please read about the OTHER things that can be related to it in posts at this site. one is in a sticky note in in this forum and there are others located in our related conditions and other forums as well.
often this is triggered by many different things such as salmonella. they have a protein that resembles the protein fo HLA B27 which allows them to attack various cells. if you have other markers in you blood, those can allow them to trigger HLA B27 disease processes. you may NEVER develop anything besides Uveitis however you should know about those things so that you can recognize them if they happen. these things are anyklosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis/Reiter's syndrome, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease as well as other forms of Irritable bowel disease.
HLA B27 uveitis must be taken very seriously by both the opthalmologist and the patient or serious consequences of under treatment can occur. this kind of uveitis can cause damage in any part of the body, often starting as iritis, progresssing to intermediate or posterior uveitis with additional complications to the retina. Glaucoma is at a higher risk as is Cystoid macular edema and vascularization of the retina.
Scleritis can occur along with kerititis and lacrimal gland dysfunction.
because of all of the above, we suggest that everyone with HLA B27 related iritis/uveitis be seen by a TRUE expert in treatment of these conditions allowing MODERN treatment employing a corticosteroid sparing approach to treatment. the use of corticosteroids causes structural changes within the eye resulting in Glaucoma, Cataracts and if oral steroids are needed, then type II diabetes and bone loss can occur.
the use of NSAIDS can often break this dependence on corticosteroids or limit the amount of them to a very short duration when a renewed bout occurs. often other disease processes can become involved systemically when inflammation anywhere in the body occurs. stopping this systemic inflammation often stops the inflammation in the eye.

Please read through information in our forums as well as at http://www.uveitis.org
the website of the Ocular Immunology and Uveitis Foundation located in Cambridge MA.

Wishing you the very best,
Mike

Re: Iritis & Salmonella Poisoning

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:25 pm
by smallen15
Well I had been symptom free and Iritis free for over 6 months and I am now in the midst of another Iritis outbreak. I thought I felt the symptoms coming on last Thursday so I used Lotemax drops that the Doctor had given me in the past, just in case, I had a flare up. I saw my eye doctor on Saturday and he said that I had about 3-5 cells of inflammation in my right eye and to continue using the Lotemax drops 3 times a day. Well, by Monday afternoon my eye was more red, I was in a lot more pain, to the point I was feeling sick to my stomach. So I made an appointment for today. The eye doctor said my cells have multiplied by about 10 compared to Saturday and put me on Pred Forte and also some dilating drops to help with the pain. I'm going back to the doctor in 1 week to see the progress.

I haven't been feeling ill otherwise, I know that since I am HLA-B27 I'm going to be more prone to these outbreaks, but can anyone tell me why I had another attack without any other symptoms. Is this something that will just happen with no explanation of the cause?

Re: Iritis & Salmonella Poisoning

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 3:35 pm
by Mike Bartolatz
http://www.about-salmonella.com/salmone ... toms_risks

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=sa ... h&aq=f&oq=

you may well have reactive arthritis also known as Reiter's syndrome from this HLA B27 related uveitis brought on by your Salmonella poisoning.
the sad thing is once that one has developed uveitis, it can return at any time. if a stressful situation preceeded this renewed inflammation that could be the cause of renewed inflammation (not the initial cause)/

you might ask your doctor to prescribe NSAIDS if this continues or returns soon after this bout is resolved.
celebrex, dolobid (difusinal) and Naprosyn given at prescription strength might help to keep the uveitis at bay and also stop inflammation occuring in your body related to onset of arthritis. you have to treat this systemically as your underlying cause is systemic. you will most likely have recurrent uveitis because of your conditions unless you can break the cycle.

you might have legal recourse regarding the Salmonella poisoning causing your uveitis which could pay for treatment etc.
your window of opportunity to take legal action may be close to an end if the three year statute of limitation applies here.
if I were you I'd contact an attorney specializing in this type of thing. there might be a class action lawsuit that you could join as well.

Wish you the very best,
Mike

Re: Iritis & Salmonella Poisoning

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 1:26 pm
by Mike Bartolatz
http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease ... is_gi.html

this is a general information link from the Center For Disease Control here in the USA on Salmonella which is much wider spread than most people think. Salmonella is under recognized as the cause of Reactive arthritis related to the HLA B27 gene which can cause uveitis. if your child or you have experienced diarrhea and stomach cramping prior to your uveitis you might ask that a stool sample be taken to see if this might be the cause. Children, the elderly and those with immune compromised systems are at higher risk of developing Salmonella and related conditions.

there are many more cases occuring annually than with the current peanut salmonella outbreak. currently there is an outbreak of salmonella from bean sprouts in the western states and north central states of the USA.

Wishing all the best,
Mike

Re: Iritis & Salmonella Poisoning

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 1:38 pm
by Mike Bartolatz
Salmonella mimicking Crohn's disease:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=sa ... h&aq=f&oq=

Re: Iritis & Salmonella Poisoning

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:09 pm
by smallen15
Hey thanks for all of the information. My Iritis was fine for about a month, I had been slowly tapering off of the Pred Forte drops and when I was down to putting in the drops 3 times a day, it bounced back. Now i'm back at square one, my eye is painful again and my opthamologist switched me off of the Pred Forte (he didn't want to keep me on it, since there is a risk of developing a cataract after prolonged use and I'm only 23) and put me on Lotemax, I'm on that 6 times a day for a week, then 5 times a day and then 4 times a day for a week, then I go back for a follow-up appointment.

I was wondering about whether or not I'd be able to get into a class action lawsuit or not, since I have this genetic marker I figured it would rule me out of any lawsuits since having it makes me more prone to this type of thing. Its very frustrating because these flare-ups happen without any notice. I might have to inquire about the NSAIDs. Do those drugs interact badly with other drugs? I'm on Adderall so I know that it has some interactions i have to be careful about.

Re: Iritis & Salmonella Poisoning

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:42 pm
by Mike Bartolatz
Talk to your doctor or phamacist about possible drug interacts as I'm neither.

I would talk to an attorney, as it caused your iritis in the first place. others may also have iritis as a result of the salmonella poisoning and could be in a class action suit.
do a google search on class action and salmonella and then contact the attorney for guidance.

wish you the best,
mike