Q: I have redness and pain in my left eye when I look at close objects. It started 2 years back and has happened approximately 7 times since then. When it happened for the first time, the doctor who treated noticed that I had a tear in my retina also. So a laser was done to rectify it. After this, I started having this problem. It happens within a time period of 1 to 3 months interval. I have been treated with steroids for a period of 3 months but after 1 month gap it occurred again. Once I start the medication, the eye gets clear by 5 or 6 days. I have done an X-ray of my lower back and blood tests for the following: ANA(Elisa) - 0.6; VDRL - Non reactive; TC - 6900 cells/cumm; DC - P-55%, L-42%, E-3%; ESR-7mm/hr. The doctors have said that they could not find anything wrong and this may be related to rheumatism which I may have later in life. I would like to know if there are any other tests which I should get done to find out the root cause of the disease.

A:From the history and other reports, it appears that you are suffering from anterior uveitis. Around 90% case of anterior uveitis are idiopathic in nature (i.e. without any known cause). One can get HLAB27 done to see whether you are genetically predisposed to have this disease. Tuberculosis should also be ruled out as this can also cause anterior uveitis. Treatment of anterior uveitis is mainly steroids and cycloplegic drops. Anterior uveitis is a treatable disorder but not curable. So you may keep on getting recurrences which should be treated in line to avoid loss of vision.