Should I panic, or???

[LisaT]

Agh! I have a little blood in one eye suddenly. I can see fine. I'm at the walkin clinic waiting for dr because I called rheumys office and they said he'd call back but I should have it looked at. My recent brain MRI was fine as was last follow up eye exam afterlaser surgery to correct small holes in retina. Same eye. Among many strange symptoms leading up to diagnosis was eyeritis. Same eye. Many years ago. Could this be nothing? Could it be wegs? Thanks!

[Pete]

Panic?? No. That won't solve anything. I think you should see an ophthalmologist soon to see if the cause of the bleeding can be determined and addressed. Just because we have wegs doesn't mean it causes every other ailment. Good luck.

[LisaT]

Thanks. I'm getting somewhat better at not panicking, but it's always my first instinct. The clinic doc ruled out anything immediately obviously urgent and said to see eye doc tomorrow to test eye pressure and look at the back of my eyes etc. in case anyone is reading this in future for a similar problem, he said immediate concerns would be high blood pressure, severe pain and light sensitivity, and/or change in vision along with the bleeding. Those require urgent care. Thanks for humouring me and my relatively teensy problem. I had one kid in tow (choked that the clinic didn't have open wifi), and another waiting to be picked up from ballet. I just wanted to make sure it was something I could leave until tomorrow. ��

[Pete]

Yeah. Since wegs onset, I've had a vitreal detachment in my left eye two years ago. It happened at lunchtime, and I was having laser surgery at 5 PM that day. Vision is normal now. The ophthalmologist says that my brain filters out the remaining floaters. I also have a family history of glaucoma, and I had laser surgery for that on both eyes about six months before I got sick. Eye pressures are in the high normal range. No further problems along that line so far, but I am watchful.

[JeanMarie]

Scleritis , iritis or uveitis are associated with wegs & can start with a red eye. Your average ophthalmologist might not have treated any of these. You can wait a day or two before seeing a doctor but they can be serious so don't delay too long.

[PJ2010]

This is interesting. When I was on meds I woke every morning with fully bloodshot eyes. It was what I thought, just part of the disease. After going off the meds, that almost ceased.
These days I have about one or two mornings a week where I wake up with sometimes severe and sometimes mild bloodshot eyes. My belief it's caused by the disease.
Another similar thing that I experience is a very flushed face. Again, once or twice in a week, I wake up and find my face is so red. No reason that I can see.
Both these conditions generally clear up by mid morning.
I haven't told my dr about this. Maybe I should.
I just think that this is vasculitis??

[JeanMarie]

PJ - definitely need to see an ophthalmologist. Even if your eye isn't red, they can see cells that indicate uveitis etc., but its best if you're having symptoms when you go. These are diseases that can cause serious damage to your sight. The first doc I saw treated me for plain old conjunctivitis for several weeks before he realized something else was wrong. They have a tendency to think of the most common problems that they see every day. My current doc has several uveitis patients & I trust him.

Be Well!