Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory autoimmune disease. If you have rheumatoid arthritis, your immune system mistakenly attacks your joint tissues. This leads to inflammation and usually causes joint pain, swelling and stiffness. Inflammation can also affect other parts of your body, including your skin, blood vessels, and eyes. In this article from the section diseasesHello, Dr. Salam, we are investigating the relationship between dryness and redness of the eyes of rheumatoid arthritis.
The relationship between dryness and redness of the eyes of rheumatoid arthritis
In fact, eye complications are one of the most common problems with rheumatoid arthritis, and about 25 percent of people with this disease have eye complications. These complications include:
- Dry eye (15 to 25 percent of patients)
- Eye episcleritis or redness caused by inflammation (0.17% of patients)
- Scleritis or inflammation caused by inflammation (0.67% of patients)
How does rheumatoid arthritis affect the eye?
Rheumatoid arthritis is the result of your immune system going wrong, and the resulting inflammation can affect different parts of your body, including your eyes.
dry eyes
The most common eye complaint of people with rheumatoid arthritis is dry eyes. Inflammation of the blood vessels in rheumatoid arthritis causes a disruption in the lacrimal glands and this causes a significant decrease in the secretion of eye fluid. The symptoms associated with dry eyes are greater during the part of the day when tears dry and evaporate from the lacrimal gland. Other symptoms of this disease include:
- Red
- blurred vision
- Feeling of crumbs in the eye
Red
Eye redness with rheumatoid arthritis is most likely the result of scleritis or inflammation in the white part of the eye. Redness caused by scleritis does not go away by using eye drops. Scleritis can also cause eye pain, sensitivity to light, and decreased vision.
eye unit
Uveitis is another possible complication of rheumatoid arthritis, but it is often seen in teenagers who have this disease. Uveitis occurs when the layer between the retina and the white of the eye becomes inflamed. Symptoms of uveitis include: eye redness, pain, sensitivity to light and blurred vision.
In most cases of uveitis in children, this disease is caused by rheumatoid arthritis. Uveitis is treatable, but if left untreated, it can lead to blindness.
Corneal damage
If you are suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and have eye problems, your treatment is essential. Because untreated dry eyes, scleritis, or uveitis may cause itching, redness, or ulceration of the cornea. Damage to the cornea can cause vision loss.
Sjogren’s syndrome
Sjogren’s is another type of autoimmune disorder that sometimes occurs alongside rheumatoid arthritis. It affects the glands that produce moisture in the body and can cause dry eyes, itching and also the feeling that sand is stuck in your eyes.
Sjogren’s can cause other symptoms, including:
- dry mouth
- Difficulty swallowing and speaking
- Violence
- Wounds inside Dahlan
- Dry and cracked skin
- tiredness
- Fever
- Swollen joints
Do eye problems mean that you have rheumatoid arthritis?
If you have dry, red eyes, you may be experiencing an autoimmune disorder. But many conditions can also cause dry or red eyes. If your eye symptoms are accompanied by the following digestive symptoms, you are more likely to have rheumatoid arthritis:
- Painful joints
- Symptoms of influenza
- tiredness
- General weakness
- Unwanted weight loss
Treatment of eye complications
In rheumatoid arthritis, early diagnosis is important for its treatment. When you are suffering from this disease, if you treat it, you are less likely to have eye disorders.
You can treat your eye problems using eye drops and lubricants. It can help reduce eye dryness, redness, and itching. Preservative-free eye drops are better for your eyes. For deeper inflammations that are not treated with eye drops, your doctor may recommend corticosteroid injections or a topical steroid. You can use a topical steroid two to four times a day to treat underlying inflammation.
Complications of rheumatoid arthritis
While pain, swelling, and stiffness in the joints are the primary symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, a misguided inflammatory response of the immune system causes various symptoms. If you have rheumatoid arthritis, you may experience the following symptoms:
Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that causes inflammation in your joints, and it can also spread to other parts of the body such as the lungs, skin, and eyes. If you have rheumatoid arthritis, if you see symptoms in other parts of the body, you should see a doctor.
