Iritis

What is Iritis?

Iritis is the inflammation of your iris, which is the coloured ring at the front of your eye.

Your iris is a circular muscle, which is similar to the shutter on a camera. It’s responsible for controlling how much light enters your eye. It makes your pupil bigger in dim light to let more light in, or smaller in bright light to limit how much light comes in.³

If you have iritis, it can develop quickly¹ and can affect one or both of your eyes.²

Iritis is also called anterior uveitis. It is rare and affects fewer than 1 in 1000 people per year.² It’s more common in adults than in children.²

Iritis can be serious. If you suspect you may have it, you should see your optometrist or your doctor as soon as possible. The sooner it’s diagnosed and treated, the more likely it is to get better.

If it’s not treated, iritis can lead to complications like cataracts, glaucoma, damage to your optic nerve¹, or loss of vision.³

Iritis symptoms

There are several symptoms of iritis. These include:

Pain in your eye or eyebrow area, which may be worse when you’re trying to focus
Redness or swelling in your eye
Sensitivity to light, or eye pain in bright light
Blurred or cloudy vision
Vision loss
Loss of peripheral vision (difficulty seeing objects at the edges of your field of vision)
Headache
Watery eyes
A very small or unusually-shaped pupil
Eye floaters: small specks floating in your field of vision

These symptoms often can last a few hours or even days. This is known as acute iritis. However, if your symptoms develop more gradually or last for more than three months, it’s called chronic iritis.

If you think you might have iritis, you should see your optometrist or doctor, especially if you have ongoing eye pain, changes in your vision, or if you’ve had iritis before. It’s important to treat iritis as quickly as possible to prevent further damage to your eyes.

If your eye has been cut, punctured, or come into contact with chemicals, you should get medical attention. Even if you don’t have Iritis causes

There are many possible causes of iritis. Often, it is hard to tell which causes the condition in a specific case.³

Sometimes, iritis can be caused by particular genes that make you more likely to develop it. It can also be caused by immune disorders such as ankylosing spondylitis or sarcoidosis. Bacterial or viral infections, such as shingles, tuberculosis, syphilis, or HIV can also cause iritis.

Iritis can also develop because of an eye injury, eye ulcer,³ or after eye surgery.² If it’s caused by a blunt force injury, penetration, or a burn, this is known as traumatic iritis.⁷ If you have traumatic iritis, your eye might look white and dusty, due to a build-up of white blood cells and proteins. It can also bulge because of the pressure caused by inflammation.⁷

There isn’t really anything you can do to prevent iritis. However, if you have an autoimmune condition, it’s a good idea to have regular eye exams to screen for iritis. Taking your medication for the autoimmune condition can also prevent this condition from causing iritis.⁵

Iritis diagnosis

If you think you may have iritis, you should see an optometrist or a doctor right away.

If your eye has been cut, punctured, or come into contact with chemicals, you should get medical attention. Even if you don’t have any symptoms of iritis straight away⁷, these could lead to traumatic iritis. The best way you can prevent further damage is by getting treatment as early as possible.

Your optometrist or your doctor will examine your eyes using a bright light and a magnifying tool. This is called a slit lamp. They might give you eye drops containing dye during the appointment to help them see the details of your eye better. They will probably also ask you about your health history, particularly whether you’ve had iritis before.⁵

Iritis treatment

If you think you have iritis, or if your eye has been cut, punctured, or come into contact with chemicals, you should see an optometrist or a doctor right away. This way, they can treat it quickly and prevent any further damage to your eyes.

Your doctor will probably give you steroid eye drops to treat iritis, because these can reduce inflammation in your eye.²

For traumatic iritis (iritis caused by an injury or chemical burn), your doctor may also give you eye drops called cycloplegic eye drops. These drops dilate your pupil and temporarily stop the muscles in your eye from working, to prevent painful spasms.⁷

If your iritis is caused by an infection, your doctor may treat the infection using antibiotics, antiviral medicine or antifungal medicine (depending on whether it’s a bacterial, viral, or fungal infection).⁸

It’s very important to get iritis treated by a doctor or an optometrist, rather than just treating it at home. This is dangerous and can make the condition worse. However, once you’ve been given your eye drops or other medication to cure the iritis, there are things you can do at home to help relieve the symptoms. You can take over-the-counter painkillers to relieve the pain, alongside taking the medication your doctor has prescribed to cure the iritis.⁸ If your eyes are sensitive to light, you may find it helpful to wear sunglasses, even indoors.⁸ It can also be helpful to put a warm flannel (face cloth) over your eye to soothe any pain and swelling.⁸

It may take 6 to 8 weeks to recover fully from iritis.³ Traumatic iritis, caused by an injury, however, is likely to heal sooner and may only take a couple of weeks1. While you’re recovering, it’s a good idea to have regular check-ups with your doctor or optometrist. This way, they can monitor you, make sure your iritis is healing, and make sure you’re not developing any other complications like cataracts or glaucoma.³

Back to overview

Iritis

Iritis symptoms

Iritis diagnosis

Iritis treatment

Citations