Iritis

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Medical Author:

Frank J. Weinstock, MD, FACS

Frank J. Weinstock, MD, FACS

Dr. Weinstock is a board-certified ophthalmologist. He practices general ophthalmology in Canton, Ohio, with a special interest in contact lenses. He holds faculty positions of Professor of Ophthalmology at the Northeastern Ohio Colleges of Medicine and Affiliate Clinical Professor in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science at Florida Atlantic University.

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Medical Editor:

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, FACS

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, FACS

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, is a board-certified ophthalmologist. Dr. Dahl's educational background includes a BA with Honors and Distinction from Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, and an MD from Cornell University, where he was selected for Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society. He had an internal medical internship at the New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center.

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Iritis is an inflammatory condition of the colored portion (the iris which surrounds the pupil) of the eye. It causes varying degrees of redness of the eye, often with significant pain, sensitivity to light, tearing, and blurred vision.

Often no reason is found. An infection of the eye or inflammation from trauma may cause iritis. Iritis may also be a complication of many diseases such as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, and collagen vascular diseases such as lupus. Iritis may occur with herpes simplex of the eye and after eye surgery. Iritis related to juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is especially dangerous and may not respond well to treatment, leading to serious eye damage. In children with arthritis, pain from iritis is often absent. Because of this, "simple" red eyes in these children should not be ignored. Iritis is not contagious. Iritis may occur in one or both eyes. Finding a cause is much more common in patients with iritis on both eyes or iritis that recurs frequently.

Iritis appears as a red, painful eye which may be accompanied by blurred vision and sensitivity to light. In addition, the pupil of the affected eye may be smaller than that of the healthy eye.