There are various types of factors that cause uveitis:

Infectious diseases such as toxoplasmosis (a disorder caused by a parasite that causes calcifications in the body and encysts in the retina), can lead to the most common cause of uveitis: infectious chorioretinitis. This process results in a gradual destruction of the retina that, if it affects the macula (central part of the retina), can cause significant irreversible vision loss.

Bone or rheumatic diseases of inflammatory and non-degenerative origin, which mainly affect young people

Autoimmune diseases caused by viruses, germs or environmental factors, such as sarcoidosis or Behçet's disease, a pathology of unknown origin that causes sores and skin changes

Trauma or a certain genetic code associated with the disease

Uveitis is less common in the first ten years of life and its frequency decreases after age 60. Most of those affected are between 20 and 50 years old.

The symptoms of uveitis are different depending on the area of the uvea that is affected.

If it is the anterior part, we may notice greater sensitivity to light (photophobia), redness of the eyes, blurred vision or eye pain.

If the affected area is the back, it is likely that we will not notice pain, although we will experience loss of vision.

Uveitis cannot be diagnosed until external signs appear. With the first symptoms it is important to go to the ophthalmologist immediately.

It is common for uveitis to be related to rheumatic diseases of inflammatory origin that mainly affect young people.

Uveitis is one of the eye pathologies most commonly related to other diseases of the human body.

The collaboration of an internist, infectious disease specialist, or rheumatologist is usually necessary to complement the study and treatment of the disease causing uveitis. In some cases, treatment of these pathologies or infections can help prevent it.

There are different treatments depending on the type and location of uveitis:

Anterior uveitis is treated, in most cases, with anti-inflammatory eye drops.

Non-infectious posterior uveitis is treated with cortisone administered orally or by injections around the eye.

Chronic forms of uveitis may require the use of immunomodulatory drugs

Surgery is not a common treatment to cure uveitis, but it can be effective in correcting associated complications, such as cataracts or glaucoma (affecting the anterior segment), retinal detachment, vitreous opacity or macular edema (affecting at the bottom of the eye)