Causes and signs of epicleritis of the eye

1 Etiology of

The most common causes of the disease:

• gout;
• arthritis;
• syphilis;
• tuberculosis;
• inflammation of the paranasal sinuses;
• viral infections;
• Crohn's disease.

The causes of episcleritis are very diverse. Epicleritis of the eye can occur when foreign bodies hit the eye or when exposed to all sorts of chemicals. Although these reasons are not considered the most common, they can not be ignored.

Primary causes of episcleritis include Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, Parry-Romberg syndrome, paraproteinemia, insect bite granuloma, adrenal insufficiency, connective tissue diseases that are systemic, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus erythematosus.

Episcleritis can be chronic, so if a person has again discovered the symptoms of this disease, then it is necessary to pay special attention to the reasons that could provoke it.

Epicleritis may reappear if it fails at the hormone level or under stress. As a rule, this disease is exacerbated in the spring-autumn period. Most often, women suffer from episcleritis at the age of 40.

2 Symptoms depending on the type of pathology

Physicians have two types of manifestation of episcleritis: simple and nodular. Quite often a simple form of manifestation occurs. It is considered less painful and prolonged, quickly curable. At the palpation of the eyelid, there is a slight pain. As a rule, the older the patient, the more painful the sensations become more noticeable.

Nodular form of inflammation of the eyeball is often observed in the elderly. It delivers more discomfort and lasts longer than with a simple one. In this case, the episcler slightly increases and creates a sensation of the nodule on the eyeball. There may be several such nodules. Nodules are able to move freely with the conjunctiva. With proper treatment of the nodular form, you can get rid of in 2-3 weeks.

Doctors single out another form of episcleritis - migratory. As in previous forms of manifestation of the disease, the patient feels a swelling in the eye. In addition, in the eye near the limbus, a hyperemia is formed. Migrating form of inflammation is characterized by angioedema and headache. The focus of redness and pain in this form of manifestation appear suddenly and alternately. Despite the actively manifested discomfort, you can get rid of migratory episcleritis in 2-3 days.

Rosacea-keratitis is another variant of episcleritis. This type is very similar to the previous form of manifestation. The main difference is in the defeat of the cornea, which is also called rosacea-keratitis. This kind of variety is considered to be the heaviest. In this case, there is a chance of relapse.

3 General signs of the disease

The list of symptoms of the manifestation of this disease is very diverse, and most often the symptomatic manifestation depends on the case. Despite this, there are common signs that will help diagnose episcleritis on their own.

First of all, you should pay attention to the blood vessels. With episcler they will be filled with blood, and the sclera will be bright red. In order not to confuse episcleritis with conjunctivitis, it is enough to look at the light. With conjunctivitis, there is no photophobia. From the first day of patients accompany tearing and painful sensations, which manifest themselves both on palpation on the sclera, and without it. Blood vessels eventually acquire a lilac or purple hue.

In the nodular form of the eye disease on the sclera, nodules are formed, which can be either soft or hard. The conjunctiva remains mobile when touched. These nodules bring discomfort and pain, but within 20-30 days they disappear.

Symptoms of episcleritis include swelling of the eyelids, the appearance of pink acne on the face and migraine. To date, the symptoms and treatment of episcleritis of the eye do not cause special problems for physicians from the position of their detection and definition. Before making the diagnosis and prescribing the necessary drugs, the ophthalmologist is thoroughly examined.

In diagnostics, the main task of the doctor is to determine the nature of the inflammation and take into account all the patient's complaints, as this affects not only the prognosis of the disease, but also the methods of treatment. The patient is instilled with vasoconstrictive drops in the eye in order to see how the vessels expanded by inflammation react to them. If the redness disappears for a while, then this is episcleritis( the vessels respond well to these drops), otherwise reddening does not disappear, indicating scleritis.

In addition, the ophthalmologist conducts eyelid palpation and biomicroscopy, that is, examines the eyeball with a slit lamp. With the help of biomicroscopy, the doctor is able to determine the presence of foreign bodies in the eye, damaged tissues, the depth of the inflammatory process and excludes all other possible causes of the disease. To determine the depth of damage, the doctor uses a local 2.5% solution of phenylephrine. To determine the root causes of inflammation and exclusion of similar diseases, determine the uric acid index, the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation in the blood, the level of rheumatoid factor, conduct tests for syphilis, fluorography, anamnesis.

Only after the ophthalmologist has performed all the necessary examinations, took into account all the symptoms, you can prescribe an effective treatment.

4 Medical measures

To treat in most cases epicleritis is not necessary, as it is benign in nature and passes by itself. But if the symptoms bring discomfort and do not disappear themselves, then in this case it is necessary to consult a specialist for help. The doctor will put the correct diagnosis, prescribe the treatment and find out what caused the inflammation.

As a rule, not only an ophthalmologist, but also an immunologist and a rheumatologist participate in the treatment of episcleritis.

First of all, it is necessary to get rid of irritants that are capable of causing an allergic reaction. To get rid of unpleasant symptoms help anti-inflammatory drops, drugs, which are based on natural tear, as well as corticosteroids. But it should be noted that prolonged use of corticosteroids can lead to glaucoma and cataracts.

With normal intraocular pressure, physicians prescribe physiotherapy procedures, mydriatic drugs.

In chronic episcleritis, doctors prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the form of capsules. The duration of the course is 1-2 weeks. Such pills are contraindicated in patients with peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum.

With a simple form of episcleritis, patients suffer from photophobia, in this case doctors recommend wearing sunglasses.

Episleritis, like many other diseases, can be treated with the help of traditional medicine. For example, in order to get rid of inflammation, you need to make lotions based on chamomile and black tea. Such lotions must be applied to the eye 4 times a day. This procedure will help to relieve inflammation.

No less effective is fresh aloe juice. It helps to heal the tissues of the eye. Mix aloe juice with boiled water in a ratio of 1:10 and brew the affected eye into the affected eye 3-4 times a day.