scerlitis

[jo04]

my son diagnosed wt scelitis he has ra he was given ointment to put on but now has cloudy vision is seeing is ra doctor tomorrow, will this go away and is he in danger of losing vision in eye

[Sandy Feldman, MD, MS]

Dear jo04,

Scleritis is a serious eye condition so make sure to communicate your concerns to your son’s eye doctor.  

Dr. Feldman

Sandy T. Feldman, M.D., M.S.
ClearView Eye and Laser Medical Center
San Diego, California

[EyeNut]

It's somewhat necessary to distinguish here between the more common episcleritis and actual scleritis, which is much rarer. Is your son in a lot of pain, or is his eye more uncomfortable?

In both cases, the ointment itself can actually account for some decrease in vision, since it leaves an oily layer on the tear on his eye. This can persist for as long as two and a half hours after instilling the ointment into the eye, possibly even longer, depending on the viscosity of the ointment. Episcleritis, the one that usually don't generate a high degree of pain, shouldn't generate too much of a change in vision. Scleritis, which usually does generate a lot of pain, often radiating outwards of the eye, can cause his vision to be a little cloudy. Although proper examination and treatment are still the best way to go, neither should harm his vision permanently if caught early on. Be sure the apply the ointment as many times as was prescribed and check in with your doctor regularly if it persists, but most often, it should pass in around 3 weeks after onset.