How to Recognize Symptoms of Scleritis

Scleritis is the medical name for inflammation of the outside of the eyeball. The sclera is the white layer of tissue that covers and protects the eyeball. Scleritis is fairly common and can affect one or both eyes. Found mostly in adults between the ages of 40 to 60 years old, it is more common in women than men. Scleritis is believed to be associated with autoimmune disorders, such as some types of arthritis. In some cases, scleritis is also caused by injury to the eye or foreign objects in the eye.
Learning how to recognize the symptoms of scleritis may help to avoid complications such as cataracts, glaucoma and other serious eye conditions.

Instructions

• 1

  Pay attention to any pain in the eye that is not caused by obvious conditions. Many people suffering from scleritis wake up in the middle of the night with eye pain. This pain may be localized or even seem to spread to the forehead or the cheeks. For some people, the feeling that the pain is "behind the eye" is common.

• 2

  Watch for signs of abnormal or more frequent tearing in the eye or eyes.

• 3

  Take note if you feel more sensitive to light than normal. Sometimes even sunlight will bother a person suffering from scleritis and will cause pain as well as prompt the eyes to tear.

• 4

  Look at your eye or eyes. Scleritis often causes the white part of the eyeball to appear a reddish-purple color, either on one or both sides of the pupil.

• 5

  Watch for any indication that you are experiencing any vision loss. While rare, some people do notice a decrease in their amount of vision as the condition progresses.