For the past few months (aside from other standard Crohn’s symptoms) I have had some dry eyes and red spots appear from time to time. Not painful or anything like that, but annoying none the less. So, I decided to look into it and found it was a side effect of Crohn’s disease which I was not aware of…
“Eye conditions that can occur with CD include conjunctivitis, episcleritis, uveitis, iritis and keratopathy. Most eye conditions will improve when progress is made in treating the underlying CD, but some may require treatment. Conjunctivitis, or “pink eye,” is an inflammation of the tissue covering the eye and inner surface of the eyelid and may be treated with antibiotics. Uveitis is the inflammation of the middle layer of the eye wall and symptoms include light sensitivity, pain, redness, blurred vision and headaches. Uveitis is commonly treated with corticosteroids; if left untreated it could result in glaucoma or detached retina. Inflammation in the white of the eye is called episcleritis: symptoms include pain and reddening, and treatment is with a vasoconstrictor or corticosteroid. Iritis is inflammation in the iris and symptoms include pain, light sensitivity, blurred vision, redness, decreased pupil size, and floaters. Steroids and antibiotics may be used to treat iritis. Keratophaty is an irregularity in the cornea that does not cause pain or loss of vision, and is therefore usually not treated. ” (this snippet was taken from http://ibdcrohns.about.com/cs/faqscd/a/crohnsfaq.htm)
I thought it was good information to pass on… When I have time I will research some of these eye conditions and post them.
