Episcleritis

It is a beautiful Tuesday and the blessings of the week have already started unfolding, I am absolutely positive of all the goodness the month of December will be bringing us. On that note, let me be one of the very first individuals to wish you a Merry Christmas in advance.

I do hope that your day was great though and that you are doing amazingly well in terms of health and general well-being. As usual, I am here at your doorsteps once again to discuss yet another ocular condition with you, I hope you learn and thing or two and that you enjoy the read as you move along.

Most of the conditions that affect the eye tend to be a result of inflammation and most often than not they tend to be fatal, however, it is not all of them that are fatal and for our discussion today it falls within the category of benign ocular conditions.

Nonetheless, it can be highly uncomfortable both aesthetically and physiologically, and the signs and symptoms may get you as a patient seeking immediate medical consult. And that is another funny thing about eye diseases, the malignant ones that can easily blind you tend to be silent most of the time, giving you any indication only at the point of no return whereas the benign ones send patients to the hospital right away.

So our condition today is known as episcleritis and it is one of the benign ones as I have already stated, let's get to more about this condition and what we could do for ourselves if we find ourselves with episcleritis.

Episcleritis is basically an inflammation of the immediate layer before the sclera known as episclera. Just as it's name sugest, it is characterized by the four horsemen of inflammation, thus redness, pain, heat and swelling. Episclera may be localized on the eye or may spread out.

It can easily be misdiagnosed as conjunctivitis if a proper look is not considered or as scleritis which doesn't happen quite often. As to what actually causes it, well we are not sure yet and thus may be considered to be idiopathic, although some consider it to be as a result of hypersensitive reactions.

As already mentioned it is characterized by the four horsemen of inflammation, however those are not the only discomforting symptoms that may come with it. Some patients report burning sensation on the eye, others report of gritty sensation, the feel of sand getting on to the eye on a windy day, for some a foreign body sensation whereas for some it is tearing and sensitivity to light.

Diagnosis is best done by your optometrist since these symptoms are quite common with lot of ocular conditions and thus you could easily misdiagnose yourself and take a malignant condition to be a benign one. The condition may resolve on its own after about a week to about 3 weeks however the discomfort is not one that is easily tolerable and thus you may need the help of an Optometrist to manage it as well as get it resolved as soon as possible.

Because of it been an inflammatory condition, it best treated with steroids and this is most likely what your Optometrist would recommend for you in terms of eye drops however the frequency may vary based on the intensity of the condition.

Non-steroidal drops may also be given as they work well in resolving inflammations on the eye too, this is especially recommend when the integrity of the cornea cannot be assessed with florescein stain, this would ensure that we do not end up scaring the cornea if its integrity is compromised in anyway.

Another thing that your optometrist may advise you to do would be to apply cold compress on the eye. This is to be done with the eyes closed and just as we may know already, cold compresses help reduce inflammation as well as the discomfort that comes with the four horsemen of inflammation.

In any case though, i would recommend visiting your nearest eye care facility for a comprehensive assessment and diagnosis so you could get the appropriate treatment accordingly. Remember always that early detection not only save lives but vision also. Be safe, love your eyes and do have a wonderful time. Thanks for reading.