What is uveitis?

Uveitis (pronounced yoo-vuh-ai-tuhs) is an eye condition where there is inflammation (swelling) inside your eye originating in a part of the eye called the uvea. Uveitis affects people in different ways depending on which part of the uvea (middle layer of the eye) and eye is affected (front, middle or back). The symptoms of uveitis may include pain, sensitivity to bright lights and poor vision. However, some symptoms can be less obvious, making uveitis more difficult to diagnose initially. Most cases of uveitis get better with treatment. Some types of uveitis are more difficult to treat because they are long-term and have sight-threatening inflammation.  

There are several known causes for uveitis but sometimes the cause is unknown (idiopathic). Possible causes include autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, infections and injury.

Around two to five in every 10,000 people are affected by uveitis in the UK every year, commonly affecting people between the ages of 20 and 59.

Uveitis is described in different ways depending which part of your uvea is affected:

• Anterior uveitis is when the iris or ciliary body at the front of your eye is affected (sometimes called iritis).
• Intermediate uveitis is when the area behind your ciliary body is affected, with most of the inflammation being seen in the vitreous, the jelly-like substance that fills your eye.
• Posterior uveitis affects the choroid (choroiditis) or retina (retinitis) or both. It can also affect the optic nerve head, where the nerve fibres leave your eye for the brain. There are many types of posterior uveitis including Birdshot chorioretinopathy or punctate inner choroidopathy (PIC).
• Panuveitis is where the inflammation affects the whole uvea.

Uveitis is also described in different ways, depending on how long it lasts:

• Acute: when the inflammation starts suddenly but improves within three months.
• Recurrent: when the inflammation flares up and settles down over months and years. Anterior uveitis is usually recurrent with acute episodes.
• Chronic: when the inflammation is longer lasting and also comes back within three months of stopping treatment. Intermediate and posterior types of uveitis are usually chronic.

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