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Anterior Uveitis / Iritis

Checked: 23-01-2020 by Vicky Ryan Next Review: 23-01-2021

Overview

This is an inflammation within the eye which occurs spontaneously. There may be a history of other autoimmune inflammation but often there is none.

 Iritis presents as:

  • Light sensitive red eye, this is the classic symptom
  • Patients often say their eye feels bruised when they close their eyelid and press their eye
  • Vision can be affected
  • No pain on eye movements, no restricted eye movements
  • Often the pupil can be small and may not dilate as fully, compared to the fellow eye
  • There is no fluorescein staining of the cornea.

Please see diagnostic photograph

Red Flags

Cases should be urgently referred to the BEH Emergency department the same day or, if out of hours to the on-call ophthalmologist, for immediate review

Before referral

Analgesia can be given, however there is no immediate treatment which can be given in primary care.

Referral

Refer to BEH Emergency Department the same day or, if out of hours to the on-call ophthalmologist, for immediate review

Resources

These guidelines have been written by Rhys Harrison, consultant ophthalmologist at Bristol Eye Hospital, with thanks to the patients who have kindly given consent to use their photos.

For full ophthalmology guidelines see: Primary Care Ophthalmology Guidance Document



Efforts are made to ensure the accuracy and agreement of these guidelines, including any content uploaded, referred to or linked to from the system. However, BNSSG ICB cannot guarantee this. This guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer, in accordance with the mental capacity act, and informed by the summary of product characteristics of any drugs they are considering. Practitioners are required to perform their duties in accordance with the law and their regulators and nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.

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