Q: The white area of my eye is turning red. It started from the corner and was not visible unless I looked in the direction opposite to the redness. Now it is red all the way till the iris. There is no pain. What is wrong? Do I have to go to a doctor? I don’t have health insurance.

A:This seems like episcleritis, which is superficial inflammation of the eye and may be associated with arthritis. If it is not causing significant discomfort, there is no need to treat it because not only does it need a long steroid treatment but that itself may be complicated by side effects, which can be serious and when you stop treatment, the redness comes back again. If fluorometholone (FML) eye drops is available, you can try it for 1-2 months and then stop.