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When you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system damages healthy cells, including the ones in your eyes. Sometimes, the effect on your eyes can be so pronounced that an eye doctor can be the first one to suspect you have an autoimmune disorder.

Maybe you’ve been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder and are wondering how it effects your eyes. Maybe you’ve noticed recurring eye problems and think a disorder might be to blame. In either case, understanding the relationship between autoimmune disease and eye health can help you know what to do to take care of your eyes.

1. Rheumatoid Arthritis

With rheumatoid arthritis, your immune system primarily attacks the lining of your joints, beginning with the joints in your fingers and toes. In response, the lining becomes inflamed, pushing down on and damaging the bone and cartilage it’s supposed to protect. The disorder can affect other parts of your body as well, including your eyes.

Dry eyes caused by the immune system attacking the tear ducts is the most common eye-related symptom associated with rheumatoid arthritis, but in some cases, the arthritis can directly attack the sclera, or white part, of the eye. The resulting inflammation (which is called “scleritis”) makes your eyes red, painful, and sensitive to light, and it can destroy your eye tissues if not treated.

An ophthalmologist can prescribe artificial tears to deal with the dry eye or anti-inflammatory drops to treat the scleritis.

2. Lupus

The immune system of those who suffer from lupus indiscriminately attacks any body tissues, including organs, joints, blood cells, and skin. Therefore, the symptoms associated with lupus are broad. If you have lupus, you’ll experience cycles of remission and flare-ups, and with each flare, different symptoms may present themselves.

Lupus can harm the eyes in a variety of ways, including by inflaming the eye tissues themselves, damaging the nerves that control movement and vision, and damaging the skin of the eyelids.

The most common eye issues experienced by people with lupus, however, are changes to the blood vessels in the retina. When the immune system attacks the circulatory system, not enough blood reaches the retinal blood vessels. The eye tries to fix the problem but simply creates more blood vessels, which also don’t have access to blood and so only restrict your vision further.

The primary method for dealing with retinal vasculitis is to treat the lupus itself. Lupus currently doesn’t have a cure, but its symptoms can be managed. Your doctor will likely prescribe anti-inflammatory medication to help restore blood flow.

If your optometrist diagnoses you with retinal vasculitis and you don’t have any known autoimmune disorder, talk to your general doctor about that possibility. Retinal vasculitis is associated with many autoimmune disorders and rarely presents on its own.

3. Psoriasis

Psoriasis causes an extreme buildup of skin cells on the surface of the skin. While skin cells generally have a month-long life cycle, those with psoriasis experience new cell growth every few days. This leads to patches of red, dry skin covered in scales. Environmental and lifestyle factors, such as stress, cold weather, skin injuries, and certain medications may cause the disorder to flare.

Psoriasis affects the skin all over your body, including your eyelids. You may develop red, scaly areas that cause pain when you open and close your eyes, or the skin may grow dry and crack. Since the skin around your eyes is so delicate, you’ll need to talk to your doctor about treatment options right away.

To treat the psoriasis on your eyes, your eye doctor might suggest using corticosteroids or eczema medication. You will need to be careful when applying any ointment or creams—they can cause damage if they come in contact with the eye itself.

4. Multiple Sclerosis

This autoimmune disorder specifically targets the brain and nervous system. The immune system attacks the nerves, which try to repair themselves with scar tissue. However, the scar tissue interrupts the signals traveling through the central nervous system, causing numbness, muscle weakness, lack of body control, pain, and reduced cognitive function.

In addition to all those symptoms, you may also suffer from vision problems. Vision problems may actually be one of the first signs that you have MS, which is one reason why regular eye exams are so important. A common initial indicator of MS is an inflammation of the optic nerve, known as optic neuritis, which restricts your vision by either blurring it or limiting it completely.

Other eye issues associated with MS include uncontrolled eye movements and double vision, due to weak muscles preventing your eyes from coordinating with each other. In every case, the symptoms usually resolve themselves during the course of general MS treatment, but your eye doctor might recommend corticosteroids as well.

 

Autoimmune disorders impact many aspects of your life, including your vision, but there are ways to overcome these eye problems and retain your sight. Make an appointment with All About Eyes to receive a professional examination and learn how to take care of your eyes.  

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