Iritis Vs Conjunctivitis And Best Distinguishing Between Them2024
Iritis Vs Conjunctivitis and the main differences
Iritis vs conjunctivitis both are common eye infections that affect the overall being and vision of any person, and both of them cause annoying symptoms.
-Iritis vs conjunctivitis both share certain symptoms such as irritation, redness, and light sensitivity, but they are different in terms of severity, causes, and treatment.
-Understanding the main differences between iritis vs conjunctivitis is crucial for detecting the proper diagnosis and treatment so that the eye condition doesn’t worsen.
-In this article, we will discuss all you need to know about iritis vs conjunctivitis differences, including their symptoms, causes, and the proper treatment for each infection.
Let’s first talk about iritis, its symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment.
What is iritis?
-To know the main differences between iritis vs conjunctivitis you should know that iritis is the inflammation of the iris, which is the colored ring around the eye’s pupil.
–Iritis is also known as anterior uveitis.
-The uvea is the middle layer between the white part of your eye and the retina.
The iris is found in the anterior of the uvea.
-The iris is made of some muscular fibers that can control the amount of light that enters the pupil so it can help you to see clearly.
-The iris makes the pupil larger in dim light, and it becomes smaller in bright light.
-If you neglect to treat iritis, that can cause serious problems such as vision loss, so you should consult your doctor if you notice eye redness, blurred vision, or feeling eye pain.
-There are 3 types of iritis:
● Acute iritis
Anti-inflammatory eye drops can treat acute iritis , and its recovery time differs according to the cause.
● Chronic iritis
If the symptoms reoccur after the treatment, this case is known as chronic iritis, and you need to follow up with your doctor to avoid vision loss.
● Recurrent iritis
Recurrent iritis is when iritis is linked to other conditions, and in this case, you need treatment from a health professional to avoid potential complications.
What are the symptoms and the causes of iritis?
Symptoms of iritis
-Iritis vs conjunctivitis both have some similar symptoms.
-Iritis symptoms are:
● Eye pain
● Eye redness
● Blurred vision
● Severe eye pain, especially in bright light
● Headache
● Floaters
Causes of iritis
1-Infections from viruses and bacteria, including tuberculosis, Lyme disease, syphilis, toxoplasmosis, herpes simplex, and herpes zoster viruses.
2-Eye injury such as a burn from a fire or a chemical, trauma, or a penetrating injury from punctures.
3-Sarcoidosis which is an autoimmune disease that involves the growth of inflammatory cells in different areas of the body including the eyes.
4-Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis: Children with this condition can develop chronic iritis.
5-Some autoimmune diseases can develop acute iritis, such as reactive arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel syndrome, and Reiter syndrome.
6-Behcet’s disease that can cause acute iritis.
The diagnosis and treatment of iritis
Diagnosis of iritis
-Steps of diagnosis are essential to differentiate iritis vs conjunctivitis and to detect the proper treatment.
-The medical professional can diagnose iritis in these ways:
1-An external exam
The doctor uses a penlight to be able to examine the pupil’s outward appearance.
2-A visual acuity test
The doctor depends on visual acuity test to detect how well the patient can see at various distances by using a standard Snellen eye chart.
3-A slit-lamp exam
This exam is done after pupil dilation.
In this exam, the doctor uses a microscope with bright light to examine the interior of the eye.
-The doctor can also ask you for more tests to find the leading cause of iritis, such as :
● Blood tests
● CT scan
● Chest x-ray
● X-ray of sacroiliac joint
Treatment of iritis
-The treatment mainly depends on the causes and the severity of iritis.
-The possible treatments are:
1-Antiviral medicines for treating viral eye infections.
2-Antibiotics for treating bacterial eye infections.
3-Immunosuppressives, but in rare cases.
4-Eye drops, the main treatment which includes:
● Dilating eye drops to dilate the pupil and reduce iritis pain.
● Steroid eye drops to reduce inflammation as glucocorticoid medications
-Some medications for iritis:
● Prednisolone acetate 1%
● Prednisone
● Cyclopentolate hydrochloride 1%
Continuing the discussion on iritis vs conjunctivitis and how to differentiate between them, let’s talk about conjunctivitis.
What is conjunctivitis?
-Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the conjunctiva, which is the transparent membrane that lines your eyeball and the eyelid.
-Conjunctiva contains blood vessels. When these blood vessels become irritated and swollen, they become more visible and cause the white part of the eye to appear pink, so conjunctivitis is also known as pink eye.
–Conjunctivitis is highly spread among children in schools as it is highly contagious, but it is not very serious.
-Conjunctivitis is unlikely to cause vision loss, especially if treated quickly.
What are the symptoms and the causes of conjunctivitis?
The symptoms of conjunctivitis
-As we mentioned, iritis vs conjunctivitis both share some symptoms, but conjunctivitis has some characteristic symptoms.
-Symptoms of conjunctivitis include:
● Itchy and burning eyes
● Blurred vision
● Light sensitivity
● Gritty feeling
● White or green discharge from eyes
● Yellow thick discharge that crusts over the eyelashes
● Swollen eyelids
● Tearing
● Swollen lymph nodes
Causes of conjunctivitis
1-Viruses
Some viruses can cause conjunctivitis, such as adenoviruses, COVID-19, and the common cold.
Viral conjunctivitis is highly contagious.
2-Bacteria
Some bacteria can cause infection of the eye, such as Streptococcus pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, Moraxella catarrhalis, Haemophilus influenzae, or Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
Bacterial conjunctivitis is more common in children.
3-Some allergens
Some allergens can cause allergic conjunctivitis, such as pollen from plants, grasses, trees, dust mites, dander from pets, medicines, and some cosmetics.
Allergic conjunctivitis is not contagious.
This type of conjunctivitis occurs frequently with some other allergic cases such as hay fever, eczema, and asthma.
It occurs seasonally when pollen counts are very high.
4-Irritants
Some irritants cause conjunctivitis as contact with dust, smoke, or chemicals.
This type of conjunctivitis is not contagious.
5-Sexually transmitted infections
A bacteria(Chlamydia or gonorrhea) or a virus( Herpes simplex) can cause sexually transmitted infections, and these infections cause conjunctivitis in newborns and adults.
6-Some autoimmune conditions cause conjunctivitis
7-Incompletely opened tear ducts in babies
8-A reaction to eyedrop
The diagnosis and treatment of conjunctivitis
Diagnosis of conjunctivitis
The diagnosis of conjunctivitis occurs with the following steps:
1-Medical history
The health professional can diagnose conjunctivitis by examining your eyes and asking you about your health history and the symptoms you have felt.
He also may need to know if any irritants have come into contact with your eyes.
2-A slit-lamp exam
A slit-lamp exam occurs by using a microscope with a high-energy beam of light (high bright); this light allows the ophthalmologist to examine the entire eye, including the conjunctiva.
He may add some fluorescein into your eyes to find out if there is any damage to the eye surface.
3-Visual acuity test
This test helps the ophthalmologist check how well you can read some symbols and letters at various distances, while you cover one eye.
4-Eye culture
If conjunctivitis lasts for more than 3 weeks and is not treated with home treatment, then the doctor will take a culture from your eye by taking a sample of the cells of your eyelids with a cotton swab and sending it to the laboratory to detect whether the conjunctivitis is caused by bacteria or virus to prescribe the proper treatment.
Treatment of conjunctivitis
-The treatment is one of the differences between iritis vs conjunctivitis as the treatment depends on the cause of each of them.
-The first step in treating
conjunctivitis is to wash your eyes gently many times with a clean piece of cotton soaked in warm water.
-Viral infection may need antiviral eye drops, ointments, and pills.
-Bacterial infections require antibiotics in the form of ointment or eye drops and you should apply the medicine even after the symptoms have improved.
-Avoid using contact lenses for a week after the symptoms have resolved.
-Throw away any eyelash extensions or eye makeup used before or during an eye infection.
–Allergic conjunctivitis is treated with antihistamine tablets or drops.
Iritis vs conjunctivitis and the main differences
We can differentiate iritis vs conjunctivitis through these points:
1-The part of the eye that is inflamed:
Conjunctivitis affects the outer layer, while iritis affects the inside of the eye.
2-Some symptoms can make a difference between iritis vs conjunctivitis as discharge that comes from the eyes in conjunctivitis.
3-Iritis may take some weeks(6-8 weeks) to treat, while conjunctivitis can be treated within 2 weeks or less.
Summary
The eye is a very sensitive area in the human body, and the slightest thing may cause it to become infected, which may bother you and cause you inconvenience.
Among the common cases of eye infections are iritis vs conjunctivitis, as they are two cases that some people may not be able to distinguish between, as their symptoms are almost similar, but in this article, we have explained the main points that enable you to differentiate between them. In all cases, if you feel any pain in your eyes, you should go to the doctor so that the matter does not develop into loss of vision.
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