Iritis may be associated with the conditions listed below. However, it is important to realize that the majority of cases of iritis have no known association.
If your ophthalmologist has reason to suspect that you have an associated condition, he may request tests such as blood tests and x-rays to confirm the associated condition.
The information given in the headings below apply only if you have the known associated condition. Some of them are very rare. The more common associations are listed first.
50% of iritis sufferers are positive in a blood test that looks for a protein found on cell surfaces called "HLA-B27". "B27" is also associated with the following conditions:
| Ankylosing spondylitis |
| Psoriasis |
| Ulcerative colitis |
| Crohn's disease |
| Reiter's syndrome |
| Fuch's heterochromic iridocyclitis |
| Intermediate uveitis |
| Sarcoidosis |
The following are very rare in the Western world
| Behçet's disease |
| VKH (Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada) disease |
The following association is very rare, full stop
| Multiple sclerosis |
| Herpes simplex (cold sore) |
| Varicella zoster (shingles) |
The following are very rare
| Tuberculosis (TB) |
| Acquired syphilis |
| Leprosy |
| Lyme disease |
| Toxoplasmosis |
An impact or penetrating injury to the eye may cause iritis. As an infection may mimic iritis, it is vital that an ophthalmologist be consulted if there is any possible doubt about ocular penetration.
Any intra-ocular surgery, such as cataract extraction or trabeculectomy for glaucoma, will cause some degree of iritis for a few weeks after surgery. To reduce inflammation your eye surgeon will prescribe steroid drops to reduce the inflammation. Exact regimes differ from surgeon to surgeon.
| Juvenile chronic arthritis (in USA, Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis) |