Scleritis is a serious inflammatory disease that affects the white outer coating of the eye, known as the sclera. The disease is often contracted through association with other diseases of the body, such as Wegener's granulomatosis or rheumatoid arthritis; it can also be attained through disorders of menstruation. For this reason, scleritis occurs frequently among young women. There are three types of scleritis: diffuse scleritis (the most common), nodular scleritis, and necrotizing scleritis (the most severe). Inflammation is the first response of the immune system to infection or irritation and may be referred to as the innate cascade. ... Jump to: navigation, search A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ... Jump to: navigation, search This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The sclera is the white outer coating of the eye. ... In medicine (rheumatology), Wegeners granulomatosis is a form of vasculitis that affects the lungs, kidneys and other organs. ... Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disorder that causes the immune system to attack the joints. ... The menstrual cycle is the periodic change in a womans body that occurs every month between puberty and menopause and that relates to reproduction. ...

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms of the disease include:

• Redness of the sclera and conjunctiva, sometimes changing to a purple hue
• Severe ocular pain
• Increased light sensitivity and tearing
• Loss of vision

The conjunctiva is a membrane that covers the sclera (white part of the eye) and lines the inside of the eyelids. ... Jump to: navigation, search Chromaticity diagram. ... The sensitivity of a human, often considered with regard to a particular kind of stimulus, is the strength of the feeling it results in, in comparison with the strength of the stimulus. ... Tears trickling down the cheeks Lacrimation is the bodys process of producing tears, which are a liquid to clean and lubricate the eyes. ...

Diagnosis

Sclera can be detected through visual acuity testing, as well as through CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasonographies. Jump to: navigation, search CT apparatus in a hospital Computed tomography (CT), originally known as computed axial tomography (CAT) and body section roentgenography, is a medical imaging method employing tomography where digital processing is used to generate a three-dimensional image of the internals of an object from a large... Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - also called magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) - is a method of creating images of the inside of opaque organs in living organisms as well as detecting the amount of bound water in geological structures. ... Jump to: navigation, search Medical ultrasonography is an ultrasound-based diagnostic imaging technique used to visualize internal organs, their size, structure and their pathological lesions. ...

Treatment

In very severe cases of necrotizing scleritis, eye surgery must be preformed to repair damaged corneal tissue in the eye and preserve the patient's vision. For less severe cases, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, are prescribed for pain relief. Scleritis itself is treated with an oral medication containing corticosteroids and an eye solution. In some cases, antibiotics are prescribed. Simply using eye drops will not treat scleritis. If not treated, scleritis can cause blindness. A typical modern surgery operation For other meanings of the word, see Surgery (disambiguation) Surgery (from the Greek cheirourgia - lit. ... The cornea is the curved, transparent layer that covers the front part of the eye and protects its inner structures. ... Biological tissue is a substance made up of cells that perform a similar function. ... Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) widely marketed under various trademarks including Act-3, Advil, Brufen, Motrin, Nuprin, and Nurofen; a standing joke about some athletes regular use has produced Vitamin I as a slang term for it. ... In physiology, corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex. ... An antibiotic is a drug that kills or slows the growth of bacteria. ... Categories: Animation stubs ... See also Blindness (novel) Blindness can be defined physiologically as the condition of lacking visual perception. ...

External links

• Scleritis article at StLukesEye.com
• Scleritis article at EyeMDLink.com