Scleritis - All About Vision
Home Conditions | Scleritis by Tom Mangan If the Whites of Your Eyes Become Inflamed, You May Have Scleritis. This Is a Tricky Diagnosis, However, for Many...
If the whites of your eyes become inflamed, you may have scleritis. This is a tricky diagnosis, however, for many reasons related to the external layers of the eyeball and the body’s natural immune defenses.
Scleritis can point to serious eye problems. In rare cases, it may cause permanent vision loss. To sort it all out, you need answers to several questions:
How do we define scleritis?
What do the symptoms of scleritis look and feel like?
Why does scleritis happen?
Which varieties of scleritis are most likely?
Which eye diseases are similar to scleritis?
What are the common treatments for scleritis?
Let’s work our way through quick answers to these questions:
What’s the medical definition of scleritis?
Sclera is the medical term for the whites of the eyes.
The sclera is made up of strong, dense tissues that keep your eyeballs round and protect the delicate parts within the eye that make vision possible. The sclera starts on the front side of the eyeball, where it connects to the cornea. It goes all the way to the back of the eye to the connection point with the optic nerve.
Scleritis happens when there’s inflammation in the sclera. Women are more likely to have scleritis, which happens most often in ages from the 30s through the 50s.
The outer surface of the eye (aside from the cornea) has three primary layers:
Sclera, at the bottom.
Episclera, on top of the sclera.
Conjunctiva, on top of the episclera.
Naturally, there’s a different medical term for inflammation in each of these layers. We’ll explore these conditions in the question below about diseases similar to scleritis.
Next up, however, we’ll take a look at the symptoms resulting from inflammation of the sclera.
What are the symptoms of scleritis?
How can you tell if you have scleritis? The most common symptoms are:
Sharp, piercing eye pain that can radiate out into the face. Often, the pain develops over several days.
Swelling and redness (bloodshot eyes). Doctors look for a blue cast to the redness to distinguish scleritis from other conditions.
Excessive tears.
Why would you have these symptoms? Let’s find out.
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