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Scleritis
 
 
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Scleritis is a serious inflammatory
Inflammation

Inflammation is the complex biological response of Blood vessel tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. It is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli as well as initiate the healing process for the tissue....
 disease
Disease

A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and Medical signs....
 that affects the white outer coating of the eye
Eye

Eyes are Organ that detect light, and send signals along the optic nerve to the visual system and other areas of the brain. Complex optical systems with resolving power have come in ten fundamentally different forms, and 96% of animal species possess a complex optical system....
, known as the sclera
Sclera

The sclera, also known as the white of the eye, is the opaque , fibrous, protective, outer layer of the eye containing collagen and elastic fibers....
. The disease is often contracted through association with other diseases of the body, such as Wegener's granulomatosis
Wegener's granulomatosis

Wegener's granulomatosis is a form of vasculitis that affects the lungs, kidneys and other organs. Due to its end-organ damage, it can be a serious disease that requires long-term immune suppression....
 or rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic disease inflammation that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks the joints producing a inflammatory synovitis that often progresses to destruction of the articular cartilage and ankylosis of the joints....
; it can also be attained through disorders of menstruation
Menstruation

See also "Mensuration", a term sometimes used to describe Measurement, particularly in the context of forestry.Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining ....
. 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).






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Encyclopedia


Scleritis is a serious inflammatory
Inflammation

Inflammation is the complex biological response of Blood vessel tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. It is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli as well as initiate the healing process for the tissue....
 disease
Disease

A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and Medical signs....
 that affects the white outer coating of the eye
Eye

Eyes are Organ that detect light, and send signals along the optic nerve to the visual system and other areas of the brain. Complex optical systems with resolving power have come in ten fundamentally different forms, and 96% of animal species possess a complex optical system....
, known as the sclera
Sclera

The sclera, also known as the white of the eye, is the opaque , fibrous, protective, outer layer of the eye containing collagen and elastic fibers....
. The disease is often contracted through association with other diseases of the body, such as Wegener's granulomatosis
Wegener's granulomatosis

Wegener's granulomatosis is a form of vasculitis that affects the lungs, kidneys and other organs. Due to its end-organ damage, it can be a serious disease that requires long-term immune suppression....
 or rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic disease inflammation that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks the joints producing a inflammatory synovitis that often progresses to destruction of the articular cartilage and ankylosis of the joints....
; it can also be attained through disorders of menstruation
Menstruation

See also "Mensuration", a term sometimes used to describe Measurement, particularly in the context of forestry.Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining ....
. 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). Scleritis may be the first symptom of onset connective tissue disease
Connective tissue disease

A connective tissue disease is any disease that has the connective tissues of the body as a target of pathology. Connective tissue is any type of biological tissue with an extensive extracellular matrix that supports, binds together, and protects organ s....
.

The term "Episcleritis" refers to inflammation of the episclera
Episclera

The episclera is the outermost layer of the sclera. It is composed of loose, fibrous, elastic tissue and attaches to Tenon's capsule.In episcleritis, the episclera and Tenon's capsule are infiltrated with inflammatory cells...
.

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms of the disease include:

  • Redness of the sclera and conjunctiva
    Conjunctiva

    The conjunctiva is a clear mucous membrane consisting of cells and underlying basement membrane that covers the sclera and lines the inside of the eyelids....
    , sometimes changing to a purple
    Purple

    Purple is a general term for the range of shades of color occurring between red and blue. It occurs by mixing the primary colors red and blue in varying proportions, with possibly a very small quantity of the third primary color ....
     hue
  • Severe ocular pain (not present in episcleritis) which may radiate to the temple or jaw
  • Photophobia
    Photophobia

    Photophobia is a symptom of excessive sensitivity to light and the aversion to sunlight or well-lit places. In medical terms it is not fear, but an experience of discomfort or pain to the eyes due to light exposure....
     and tear
    Tears

    Tears are the liquid product of a process of lacrimation to clean and lubricate the eyes. The word lacrimation may also be used in a medical or literary sense to refer to crying....
    ing
  • Decrease in visual acuity, possibly leading to blindness


Diagnosis

Scleritis is best detected by examining the sclera in daylight; retracting the lids helps determine the extent of involvement. Other aspects of the eye exam (i.e. visual acuity testing, slit lamp examination, etc) can be normal. Ancillary tests CT scan
Computed tomography

Computed tomography is a medical imaging method employing tomography. Geometry Processing is used to generate a stereoscopy of the inside of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around a single axis of rotation....
s, MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging

GaneshMagnetic resonance imaging , or nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , is primarily a medical imaging technique most commonly used in radiology to visualize the structure and function of the body....
s, and ultrasonographies
Medical ultrasonography

Diagnostic sonography is an ultrasound-based diagnostic medical imaging technique used to visualize subcutaneous body structures including tendons, muscles, joints, vessels and internal organs for possible pathology or lesions....
 can be helpful, but do not replace the physical examination.

Treatment

In very severe cases of necrotizing scleritis, eye surgery
Surgery

Surgery is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, to help improve bodily function or appearance, or sometimes for some other reason....
 must be performed to repair damaged cornea
Cornea

The cornea is the transparency front part of the eye that covers the Iris , pupil, and anterior chamber. Together with the cilliary muscles, the cornea reflects light, and as a result helps the eye to dilate, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power....
l tissue
Biological tissue

Tissue is a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism. Hence, a tissue is an ensemble of cells, not necessarily identical, but from the same origin, that together carry out a specific function....
 in the eye and preserve the patient's vision. For less severe cases, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen
Ibuprofen

Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug originally marketed as Brufen, and since then under various other trademarks , most notably Nurofen, Advil and Motrin....
, 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
Eye Drops

Eye Drops was a television program on TechTV that showcased short computer animation movies and clips made using Commercial off-the-shelf 3D computer graphics....
 will not treat scleritis. In more aggressive cases of scleritis, chemotherapy (such as systemic immunosuppressive therapy with such drugs as cyclophosphamide or azathioprine) may be used to treat the disease. If not treated, scleritis can cause blindness
Blindness

Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define "blindness." Total blindness is the complete lack of form and visual light perception and is clinically recorded as "NLP," an abbreviation for "no ligh...
.

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