Has anyone ever heard of a link between Coeliac's disease and Iritis please?

[witchofthewest]

[FionaGFG Administrator]

Hi I've seen a lot online mentioning auto-immune disease and some coeliacs with the condition. It appears that anyone with an auto-immune disease maybe more susceptible to this and should see a Dr urgently if they have redness in the eye.

This research shows there is a link with CD & Iritis (Uveitis):

"Clinical uveitis as a manifestation of celiac disease has been described in only two cases in the literature. This case study is the third to demonstrate that uveitis is a clinical symptom that can be addressed in patients with celiac disease."

Source: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/198...

"The following factors may increase the risk of developing uveitis:

Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and other autoimmune disorders.

A blow to the eye which may have caused an injury.

AIDS/HIV and other diseases which weaken the immune system."

source: medical news today

Did you have the eye problems first or after coeliac diagnosis? How did you get Iritis diagnosed?

For others:

Uveitis, (also known as iritis), is inflammation (redness and swelling) of part of the eye. It usually only affects one eye, not both. If you have uveitis, your eye will become red, painful, sensitive to light (photophobia). Other symptoms include:

an aching, painful, red eye. The pain can range from mild aching to intense discomfort,

blurred or cloudy vision,

a small pupil,

an iris (the coloured part of the eye) that may have a slightly different colour,

sensitivity to light (photophobia),

floaters (dots that move across the field of vision), and

headaches.

Further reading:

webmd.boots.com/eye-health/...

webmd.boots.com/eye-health/...

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

aafp.org/afp/2002/0915/p991...

[witchofthewest]

Hi Fiona, and thank you for this information. I first had Iritis attacks over 30 years ago and I have never been told by any medical personnel that it may be linked with CD. I know a few people with iritis and I have never met anyone with bi-lateral iritis, other than myself. I have recently had two attacks of iritis and I am trying to find any information tying it in with CD.

Again, thanks for the info...food for thought.

[FionaGFG Administrator]

Great Wotw - have you had input from eye specialists or endochrinologists as well?

[Lexy]

Hi Both, I'm currently undergoing tests for dermatitis herpetiformis. I have taken myself off gluten even though the initial blood test was inconclusive (I have read elsewhere that the standard blood test is often negative/inconclusive in people with full-blown coeliac!). I suddenly got iritis in my left eye, totally out of the blue, about 7 years ago. I have subsequently had annual flare-ups, and sometimes twice a year flare-ups, thankfully always only in my one eye. I always have drops on hand and if I catch it quickly the pain goes away by the end of the first day. I too have wondered if there is a connection between coeliac and iritis. My skin problems (which I've had since teenage years) suddenly became a lot worse around the time of my first iritis flare-up... I've been searching on the net but have not yet found any definitive link between the two, but it seems likely to me.

Not sure if this helps but I thought I would comment. Would love to hear if anyone else has had this combination...

[whiteflower in reply to Lexy]

Dear Lexy

I am celaic and since my diagnosis,11 years ago,I have had 4 iritis flare ups. On two occassions I got flare ups in both eyes simultaneously.

[Penel]

Thanks for posting this. It's very interesting to know that this has happened to other people. An omg moment! I also had a sudden attack of iritis about 7/8 years ago coinciding with a dermatitis looking rash. Initially misdiagnosed as conjunctivitis, luckily I got a second diagnosis before too much damage was done. The first eye specialist told me it was 'idiopathic' - no known cause. The second described it as 'arthritis' of the eye. Luckily the few flare-ups have got further and further apart.. There seems to have been little knowledge or suggestion of autoimmune problems amongst any of the Health Professionals I have seen. I have had a rare eye condition called choroiditis since childhood (a kind of iritis which destroys the retina) which can be associated with AI diseases. Some years ago I tested positive for a genetic marker for Ankylosing spondylitis, which can be associated with iritis, etc etc. (The arthritis-type pains improved after going gf, and leaving as much starch as possible out of what I eat), I wonder if gluten should carry some kind of health warning!

[Lexy]

Hi Penel, gluten should DEFINITELY carry a health warning! It's evil evil stuff! And totally unnecessary. Well, at least in my humble opinion! I hadn't thought about cutting out/down on starch...hm, food for thought!

Re no mention of AI problems from your Health Professionals, that is shocking. My treatment has all been at Ninewells in Dundee and the specialists there have been upfront in saying that often they just don't know why iritis occurs. It took several years of repeat flare-ups before I was sent for blood tests (presumably to check for ankylosing spondylitis and various other possible conditions) and was told the results came back clear. Interestingly, the reason i was finally sent for bloodtests was that one particular specialist took one look at my skin (on my face and neck) and said 'have you had the blood tests done?'! So she obviously thought there was a possible connection!! So now I'm in the queue for dermatology clinic (end April!)... Fingers crossed I haven't had an iritis flare-up since September (it tends to be once a year, either autumn or late winter/early spring, although I've also had it mid-Summer, so no pattern there either..). Not sure if going gf has anything to do with it but I've not had the 'grumbling' pain which I used to get quite regularly, as in it would seem that all the familiar symptoms were gearing up and I would expect a flare-up and then it would all die down without actually erupting...but the 'grumbling' discomfort would continue for weeks/months.

Not sure if any of this helps, but I'm sure some kind of study could provide interesting correlations between gluten intolerance and iritis problems.

[Maggie70]

I've had recurring iritis for about 10 years. I too was misdiagnosed the first time, what an ordeal and oh, what pain! I was told that it was related to my other auto-immune disease, ulcerative colitis, and there was not a thing I could do about it. I get an iritis flare up about every 4 to 6 months... until lately. I almost hate to say this out loud, but I haven't had one for about 10 months now. What's different? I decided to go gluten free after seeing the doctor who wrote "Wheat Belly" on the Dr. Oz show. It was just an experiment to see if I could possibly lose weight this way. Well, I haven't lost any weight but... holy cow!l No iritis attacks! So, today I decided to see if anyone else noticed a correlation between gluten sensitivity and iritis, and found this thread. Yahoo!, confirmation! No more wheat for me. Happy, happy, joy, joy!