i need to know if ra iffect the eyes?thanks for any info.
RA can affect the eyes in several ways. One, your eyes can be inflamed just like any other part of your body. This needs to be treated by an opthamologist. If they are inflamed, they will give you cortisone drops.
But other things can also affect the eyes. Sjogren's is another autoimmune disease that dries out the eyes, the mouth, the throat and other tissues in your body. This requires everything from simple eye drops to eye plugs to sometimes surgical treatment.
Prednisone and Plaquenil also cause side effects which MUST be monitored. Prednisone can cause both glaucoma and cataracts. Plaquenil can change how you see colors. The opthamologist checks these every 4-6 months.
If you are having any problems with your eyes, you should get in to see an opthamologist (not an optometrist) right away.
thanks deanna my sister and i both r haveing eye problems.the dr said it was from RA but i didn't think it would bother the eyes.RA can affect not only the joints, but any system in your body. That is why it is called a systemic disease.
The best overall treatment is getting the RA under control. Your Rheumy should be able to send you both to a good opthamologist. They will also check your general eye health and your optic nerve.
In actuality, any one who has RA should routinely see an opthamologist.
I have glaucoma, Sjogren's and RA affecting my eyes. But it isn't as bad as it sounds if you stay on top of it.
What specific kinds of problems are you experiencing because several people have had different problems and may be able to give you some ideas of what can be done?
I have had RA all my life, dx officially in 1991 after 5 hand surgeries due to cystic rheumatoid arthritis. My hand surgeon sent me to my now Rheumatologist. I have been on several meds all the way up to antibiotic treatment then Enbrel which Enbrel broke the beast....for now. I learned last week I have cataracts in part due to the Pred. ( my family on my mothers' side all had cataracts).
I went to an opthamologist who told me a bunch of stuff, it upset me enough to where I went in to see my PCP. HE reassured me all is ok and we will find another opthamologist and be tested again in 6 months to a year. He said not to worry so much about the cataracts, we are more concerned and looking for any retinal damage, decrease in my ability to see, ect.. This PCP of mine is truly a caring DR. I'll keep him! ( I would take him home if I could!)
RA does take over your entire body and changes do occur and you have to keep up on everything. Whenever you notice a change in anything, any organ including skin, including your eyes ect., you really need to go to a specialist. Work closely with your PCP and if your PCP doesn;t want to be helpful, then seek a new one.
If you keep up on everything you can catch the problems earlier...and yes it is a pain and you get so sick of being sick!!!!! But that is the nature of RA. I have done this for the past 15 years of my life and nearly my daughters' entire life. If I can do it anyone can.
jode
I also have sjogens. It was having blurred vision....major light sensativity and sometime pain in my eyes. They did a quick little test that test the tear production in the eyes. They call it dry eye....my RD calls it Sjogrens. Turns out my dry mouth and sometimes wraspy throat/voice is all related.
I just use an over the counter drop for dry eye. It really has helped though.
I've heard of many people with a lot worse eye problems than "dry eye" though. In fact a girl I use to work with was originally dx'ed by her eye doctor. Her eyes were so red it was scary at times....her doctor sent her to an RD because he was sure she had RA. Turns out she did!
I have had eye problems lately too, but mine are blurred and waterry and burn alot. I dont know what thats about. I just had an eye exam in March. I think my vision has gotten worse pretty quickly. I dont know if it is the RA or just age...You know crunch....even though they call it "Dry Eye" my eyes didn't really ever feel dry. In fact; just as you said they would water for no real reason at all. My doctor said that's due to the over production of one of the glands? I don't really know how to explain it....but when he said you have dry eye I said "But my eyes are always watering" he explained that you have two tear ducks. The one that produces regular tears and the one that produces protective moiture.
Did they do the little test on you when you were there to test your tear production? They stick these tiny, tiny tiny strips of paper on your eye ball and then you sit in a totally dark room for 5 minutes blinking as little as possible. Then they take them off and they can tell how much tears your are producing. Doesn't hurt....but those are the longest 5 minutes you'll ever remember.
You might want to just try some natural tears from the drug store. See if they help. They do seem to sooth them when they are burning.
Crunchy,
Get you butt into the eye doctor. You are describing what mine are like when they are inflamed by the RA. Also, I am much more sensitive in the summer. You have to get it checked out.
No they didnt to that test, but I wasnt having this problem at the time. I also get these funny little "pulse" like sensations in my eye or eyelids. It will just happen briefly. I guess I need to look and see what my new coverages are and get something set up.Please do, Crunchy. It's your eyes after all. Comes a little lower than the heart in seriousness, but not much. And, treating them can be so simple.
Mine have been really bad at times. So I see the opthamologist if anything feels wrong, even if I'm not sure. Most of the time, it has been exactly the right thing to do.
I am going to try to get in to the eye doc soon....geeze...I've seen more doctors in the last year and a half that I have in my whole life....
The eye doctor gave me drops callled Systane Free (available OTC) that help. He said regular artificial tears eyedrops aren't going to help me, but these are gel drops that will help replace the oils I'm losing.
Nancy
The ones I use are called Natural Tears. They have a could different kinds.
During the day I take the ones that are for moderate dry eye and they aren't as thick as the ones I'll take at night that say for severe dry eye. They feel really good....but take a few minutes to adjust once you put them in.
You RA doctor can do a test to check for sjogrens.
Nancy, I use genteal preservative free gel. I really like it. It will make your eyes blurry for a few minutes. Also, you can use those sterile water vials that they have at the drug store. Those you can use as often as needed.
The irony of Sjogren's is that your eyes can really water at times and then later, they will feel like someone has sucked all the moisture from your eyes.
The other thing that really helps, and I know others do this to, is take a warm cloth and put it over your eyes first thing in the morning and in the evening as well (I skip the evening). But this really helps clean out your eyes ducts in a very gentle way.
If the gel doesn't help, they can put little plastic plug in your eye ducts that help keep the moisture in. If that doesn't work, they can add Retasis to the equation. For people who don't respond to any of those, they can do some kind of surgery.
I have the eye plugs and they have made a tremendous difference in my eyes.
One of the things that also happens when your eyes dry out is that it will be harder to see because the light is reflecting differently.
Always protect your eyes from the sun. Wear sunshades any time you are going to be out in the sun even for short periods.
As Lovie suggested, it is important to get the diagnosis of Sjogren's which is a simple litmus test that takes about 2 seconds. The reason that this is important is that you want to make sure that your RD is treating you well enough that your eyes are not being affected.
You should have regular checks with your opthalmologist from now on as complications from the medicine and the RA can develop. If you are on Prednisone or Plaquenil, this is particularly important. In these cases, they should be doing field vision tests, color tests (Plaquenil) and looking at your optic nerve.
Sjogren's for the most part is not a big problem if treated properly. But it can cause problems if it's not.