Iritis.org

I've read just about every post here. The one thing most of us are having in comune is that the right eye is the first attacked. In cronical cases both eyes eventually will contract iritis. Myself had 5 so far and each time on the right eye.

sorry all, suppose to be a poll but didn't work.

often one eye is the main target of inflammation. it isn't a predictor of potential loss of vision however as one can become blind in one eye from this stuff; or, the person might only have a couple of bouts and never have any more. good outcomes are possible with bilateral uveitis. there are subltle clues which can be used by the opthalmologists such as major synechiae (scaring) left behind which causes the iris to stick to the lens.
certain charachteristics are seen with things like the herpes Simplex virus when it attacks the eye (the one from cold sores of the mouth or nasal passages) or Sarcoidosis and other autoimmune diseases which have granulomatus iritis or uveitis present.

with HLA B27 related uveitis, the inflammation 'ping pongs' between eyes in many cases.

Wish you the very best,
Mike

Mike,

Thanks for your reply. My problem is that nothing make sense so far. I've done blood work and other then HLAB27 positive, i have nothing else. Acording to doctors I should have iritis in both eyes. I don't believe it got to be cronically as it goes away after a few weeks of Pred Forte and Atropine and in my situation comes back almost to the dot after a year. (well the last one was a bit early but not by much). Out of the entire possible cause list related to iritis, i can find none that remotely I can associate to.

please shed some light.

each of us is different in how we present with iritis. a classic presentation isn't required. feel lucky that to this point that you have only gotten uveitis in one eye. at some point it MIGHT go over to the other eye but no one can say for sure what will happen with you. the initial trigger was caused by a pathogen, perhaps you had a case of Gastro intestinal upset caused by a virus or bacteria and that could have started the initial bout of uveitis. then you are exposed to something on an annual basis which triggers a new bout. a sinus infection for example, a cold or something else. hopefully you will never come down with one of the HLA B27 related diseases but be vigiliant. low back pain, joint paiin or symptoms of crohn's diseae or ulcerative colitis for example should be watched for as well as rashes which might be caused by psoriasis with swelling of the fingers etc.

with just a short period of inflammation once a year which responds to topical eyedrops I doubt anyone would prescribe additional meds at this time but if the duration becomes chronic or if it starts over a short period after a bout, then perhpas NSAID therapy would be thought about seriously by a specialist.

Wish you the very best,
Mike