Don’t let arthritis steal your vision!
Patients with arthritis are more likely to have vision issues. When you’re undergoing an ophthalmic examination for arthritis, you should consult an ophthalmologist to check your eye health.
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Customer Stories
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Last year I was diagnosed with keratonconjunctivitis Sicca, a serious eye condition because I have rheumatoic arthritis, and was told my by doctor that it was incurable. The doctor gave me drops to help with the discomfort. I am a natural health practitioner, so I researched and found the TheraLife site on the internet. I started taking the TheraLife Eye Autoimmune Capsules and had been on them 6 months when I was due to go and have a check-up on my eyes. They couldn’t believe that my eyes were completely clear! Of course when I told them what I had been doing (i.e taking your capsules), they looked at me as if I was crazy. Why won’t these professional in the main stream medical field accept and embrace the natural health field? To anyone who has problems similar to mine, I really suggest you take these capsules – they do work!
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Definition
If you have arthritis (RA), you are already familiar with this chronic disease that causes swelling and pain in parts of the body.
Most people think RA mainly affects the body’s joints—like hands, wrists, and feet. But did you know it can cause arthritis in eyes?
Your eyes can feel dry, with eye pain, light sensitivity, blurred vision, sandy-gritty feeling, and poor night vision. Left untreated can cause blindness.
Typically inflammatory RA is regarded as a joint disease. It is a systemic disease with joint pain. It affects the entire body.
Medically reviewed studies show inflammation can cause damage to other areas of the body, such as arthritis in the eyes.
All inflammatory conditions affect a substance called collagen is called connective tissue disease. Collagen is a component in connective tissue – as with rheumatoid arthritis. These conditions have scleral damage (the white eye) or the cornea.
RA is considered an autoimmune disease.
How does arthritis affect the eye?
RA affects the connective tissue around joints. These connective tissues contain collagen and other substances. Collagen is a significant component in the cornea and sclerotome of the eyes. The disease is an organ-based disease that affects the body and the cardiovascular system.
Treatment includes corticosteroid eye drops. However, corticosteroid eye drops can cause glaucoma.
The structure of the eye and where arthritis strikes
Inflammatory arthritis is a condition where different eye diseases occur.
The whole eye cover is covered with the white outer layer called the sclera -which is covered by a thin semi-transparent mucus membrane with the blood vessel.
Atop the cornea lies the translucent layer that reflects and focuses light.
Behind a cornea is an iris that regulates light entering the eye as it would be in a diaphragm in a video camera.
Other related eye problems
It’s common for patients to have severe eye infections if there’s arthritis.
Scleritis
Often arthritis develops sclerosis and is particularly common in older people. It happens when inflammation thins the skin in the sclera. Scleritis symptoms are constant red eyes, deep eye aches, and sensitivity. Scleritis may result in an eye-opening or tear.
Vaccines may affect the cornea and other eye conditions. Often these cells are damaged by UV infections and are injured.
Light Sensitivity
RA can inflame and thin the white outer layer of your eye- the sclera. That can be serious because the thinner layer can split if you get an injury.
Medically reviewed studies indicate scleritis is more common in people between 40 and 70.
You might notice: Red eyes that don’t go away Pain Swelling Light sensitivity Irritation or itchiness Occasional vision problems Uveitis. Here, RA inflames the uvea. That’s the layer of tissue between the back of your eye (the retina) and the sclera.
In addition to eye pain and light sensitivity, blurry vision is likely with uveitis. Your doctor might call it“iritis”.
Retinal vascular occlusion
RA in the early stages results in pain, blurred vision, blank spots in vision, seeing a rainbow-colored halo around lights.
Treatment: eye drops surgery to lower pressure – corticosteroid use for arthritis symptoms.
If the blood vessels leading to the retina become blocked, it can cause retinal vascular occlusion.
Causes include: lupus scleroderma Behçet’s disease, sarcoidosis polyarteritis nodosa
Symptoms: a blind spot in a person’s vision. Vision loss that comes and goes suddenly gradual vision loss
Treatment: laser surgery to reduce swelling and restore vision if a vein is blocked If an artery is blocked.
Dry eyes
Many people with RA are suffering from dry eyes.
The eyes feel gritty, blurry vision, light sensitivity, eye pain, and often blepharitis.
Sjogren syndrome has dry eyes causing inflammatory changes that can cause RA.
In inflammatory arthritis, women have a greater likelihood of developing dry eyes than males.
When neglected, dry eye may cause serious complications.
People suffering from dry eye use eye drops, ointments, or artificial tears.
You can also have small plugs in your tears ducts that shore up tears from settling on the eye surfaces.
Learn more about Theralife’s treatment for rheumatoid arthritis dry eyes.
Juvenile arthritis
About 6% of uveitis cases are in children. And 80% of those cases are associated with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
Juvenile RA and Your Child’s Eyes – Scleritis. Scleritis is the inflammation of the sclera. Symptoms include:
- Blurred vision.
- Severe eye pain and tenderness.
- Red patches in the white areas.
- Painful sensitivity to Excessive light.
- Watering.
Severe scleritis can cause thinning of the cornea, leading to partial blindness. If left untreated, scleritis can lead to perforation of the eyeball, which causes blindness.
What is RA?
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is where your immune system attacks itself.
RA attacks the lining of the joints. Rather than protecting the person from bacteria and viruses, RA makes the immune system overactive and attacks healthy tissues. Over time, the inflammation will damage the joints permanently and cause severe pain.
What is psoriatic arthritis?
Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the joints where tendons and ligaments connect to bone. Like psoriasis, PsA is associated with related health conditions (comorbidities).
It can start at any age and may affect children. The disease often appears between ages 30 and 50.
For many people, it starts about ten years after psoriasis develops. Still, some develop psoriatic arthritis first or without ever developing or noticing psoriasis.
Treatment for psoriatic arthritis
Though there is no cure, a growing range of treatments is available to help stop the disease progression, lessen pain, protect joints, and preserve a range of motion.
Suppose you suspect you may have psoriatic arthritis. In that case, it is essential to work with a rheumatologist (a doctor specializing in how the immune system affects joints, bone, and muscles) to find the right treatment plan.
Early recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of Psoriatic arthritis can prevent or limit the extensive joint damage in later stages of the disease.
What is reactive arthritis?
Reactive arthritis is a condition that causes redness and swelling (inflammation) in various joints in the body, especially the knees, feet, toes, hips, and ankles.
It usually develops after you’ve had an infection, particularly a sexually transmitted infection or food poisoning.
What are other autoimmune diseases?
Your immune system protects you from disease and infection by attacking germs into your body, such as viruses and bacteria. Your immune system can tell that the germs aren’t part of you, destroying them.
If you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system attacks the healthy cells of your organs and tissues by mistake.
The autoimmune disease causes your body to attack its healthy tissues, such as your eye.
Other forms of inflammatory arthritis that can cause eye issues include:
a. reactive arthritis, which can be triggered by psoriatic infection arthritis,
b. ankylosing spondylitis, or arthritis of your spine and sacroiliac joints (the joints that connect your sacrum at the base of your spine with your pelvis
c. sjögren’s syndrome Keratitis sicca, or dry eye, refers to any condition that decreases moisture in your eyes. It’s often associated with RA.
Treat arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disorder for which there is no known cure.
Fortunately, in the last few years, a shift in strategy toward the earlier institution of disease-modifying drugs and the availability of new classes of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have greatly improved the outcomes expected by most patients.
The goal of rheumatoid arthritis treatment now aims to achieve the lowest possible level of arthritis disease activity and remission, minimizing joint damage, and enhancing physical function and quality of life.
The optimal treatment of RA requires a comprehensive program that combines medical, social, and emotional support for the patient.
The patient and the patient’s family must be educated about the nature and course of the disease. Treatment options include medications, reduction of joint stress, physical and occupational therapy, and surgical intervention.
Pharmacological Strategies
There are three general classes of drugs commonly used in treating rheumatoid arthritis: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs).
Because cartilage damage and bony erosions frequently occur within the first two years of disease, rheumatologists now move aggressively to a DMARD agent early in the condition, usually as soon as a diagnosis is confirmed.
Analgesic drugs are also sometimes helpful in decreasing pain until DMARDs take effect. A summary table of how to monitor drug treatment in rheumatoid arthritis is included.
Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Agents (NSAIDs)
The primary effect of these agents is to reduce acute inflammation, thereby decreasing pain and improving function.
These drugs also have mild to moderate analgesic properties independent of their anti-inflammatory effect. However, it is essential to note that these drugs alone do not change the course of the disease of rheumatoid arthritis or prevent joint destruction.
Aspirin is the oldest drug of the nonsteroidal class. Still, because of its high rate of GI toxicity, a narrow window between toxic and anti-inflammatory serum levels, and the inconvenience of multiple daily doses, aspirin’s use as the initial choice of drug therapy has largely been replaced by other NSAIDs.
There are many NSAIDs from which to choose, and all are potentially equally effective at total dosages. Likewise, the toxicities of the currently available NSAIDs are similar. However, there is a great deal of variation in tolerance and response to a particular NSAID.
Many different NSAIDs are available.
Some over the counter including ibuprofen (Advil ®, Motrin®, Nuprin ®) and naproxen (Alleve®) and many others are available by prescription.
NSAID Mechanism:
NSAIDs inhibit the generation of prostaglandins by blocking cyclooxygenase enzymes, COX-1 and COX-2.
Prostaglandins are mediators of inflammation and pain and have essential roles in maintaining normal body functions, including protection from stomach acid, maintenance of kidney blood flow, and contributing to platelet stickiness and vascular function.
COX-2 selective inhibitors selectively block prostaglandins generated via COX-2, which have prominent roles in inflammation.
Controlling inflammation helps your body and your vision.
The treatment of eye inflammation always requires a comprehensive treatment plan to combat inflammation. It will make a tremendous difference if you get a treatment plan from a doctor for arthritis at early stages.
If you are suffering from an underlying problem like arthritis, you should find the correct treatment. Consult your ophthalmologist frequently for professional medical advice.
The importance of regular eye care
The most effective way to diagnose and control inflammation of the eye is to consult your rheumatologist a day before any surgery for any eye condition. If there is an apparent eye-related symptom, you can call the eye doctor for medically reviewed opinion and advise.
A yearly dilated ear examination is essential to see early underlying conditions and damage. The most common eye disorders are not very painful or can have very poor vision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can arthritis cause dry eyes?
Yes, rheumatoid arthritis can cause dry eyes This is because arthritis has a lot of inflammation which can affect the eye’s ability to make tears. Treatment for arthritis caused dry eye is anti inflammatories especially steroids.
Can arthritis affect your eyes?
Yes, arthritis can affect your eyes. Some people develop scleritis – which affects your cornea. If you have arthritis, check with your eye doctors often for vision health. Consult with TheraLife to calm inflammation and get dry eyes under control.
What are the symptoms of arthritis in the eye?
Conclusion
Most people think of rheumatoid arthritis as a joint disease, but like other autoimmune disorders, it can affect other areas of the body as well. Eye problems are some of the more common complications for people with rheumatoid arthritis, and they can lead to corneal damage and ultimately impair vision if left untreated.
Some common eye conditions, like the ones described below, may affect people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). But there are steps you can take to safeguard eye health and avoid permanent damage.
Seek help from TheraLife. Call us toll free 1-877-917-1989 US/Canada. Send inquiries to : [email protected]
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