Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Uveitis: Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment

This is an inflammatory disease which affects the joints of children who are below sixteen years of age. It is an autoimmune disease and in this condition, the body’s white blood cells attack the healthy joints. The joints have inflammation and there is difficulty in walking. The eyes get inflamed and this condition is known as uveitis. The front portion of uvea gets inflamed.

Symptoms:

Some of the symptoms of this condition are sensitivity to light, pain, redness and blurry vision. In the beginning, there are no symptoms and when once the symptoms appear, there is damage to the eyes and vision loss. Consult an ophthalmologist soon. If this condition is not treated soon, it can cause band keratopathy, glaucoma, cystoids macular edema and cataract.

Diagnosis:

The blood is tested to see whether there is presence of antinuclear antibody (ANA) and there is greater risk of getting uveitis if the test is positive. Some of the other blood tests are taken as well. The slit lamp is used to examine a child’s eye and it gives a magnified vision of the eye. The damage caused to eyes from uveitis is also noted. Vision loss is caused if the condition is left untreated and to save the child’s vision, early treatment is recommended.

Treatment:

A team approach is necessary to treat this condition and the recommendation of child’s rheumatologist is needed. Steroids are one of the ways to treat this condition and are taken in the form of injection, eyedrops or orally. Immunosuppressive drugs are also used to treat this condition.