Scleritis

 
 

Overview

Inflammation of the sclera, or the white part of the eye. Frontal, or anterior, inflammation is more common than in the back, or posterior of the eye. Scleritis may be caused by eye trauma, fungus, parasites, specific medications, certain surgeries, or systemic infectious diseases such as tuberculosis or syphilis.

Common Symptoms

Eye tenderness, redness/swelling of the white part of the eye, blurred vision, tearing, sensitivity to light, jaw, face, or head pain, complete loss of vision.

Coexisting Diseases and Conditions

Rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, connective tissue diseases, eye infections, inflammatory bowel disease, Sjogren’s syndrome, granulomatosis, scleroderma, sarcoidosis, Lyme disease, Cogan’s syndrome.

Risk Factors and Prevalence

History of systemic infections or diseases, having certain surgeries, or taking certain medications may heighten your risk of developing scleritis. Females are affected slightly more frequently by scleritis than men. The average age of development is 45-60 years, and children are rarely affected.

Sources

  1. Article Sources and Footnotes

    1. Reddy, J. C., Murthy, S. I., Reddy, A. K., & Garg, P. (2015). Risk Factors and Clinical Outcomes of Bacterial and Fungal Scleritis at a Tertiary Eye Care Hospital. Middle East African Journal of Ophthalmology, 22(2), 203–211. https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-9233.150634.

    2. Sainz de la Maza, M., Molina, N., Gonzalez-Gonzalez, L.A., Doctor, P.P., Tauber, J., Foster, C.S., 2012. Clinical characteristics of a large cohort of patients with scleritis and episcleritis. Ophthalmology 119 (1), 4350.

    3. Scleritis – an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. (n.d.). Https://www.Sciencedirect.Com/Topics/Medicine-and-Dentistry/Scleritis. Retrieved July 9, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/scleritis. 

    4. Sharma, S. M., & Rosenbaum, J. T. (2010). Chapter 82—Scleritis. In L. A. Levin & D. M. Albert (Eds.), Ocular Disease (pp. 642–653). W.B. Saunders. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-7020-2983-7.00082-6.

    5. Uveitis. (2010). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2009-0-49387-5.

    6. What Is Scleritis? (2020, August 4). American Academy of Ophthalmology. https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-scleritis.

    7. Rose, N. R., & Mackay, I. R. (2020). The Autoimmune Diseases (6th ed., p. 1036). Academic Press.