Ask Dr. H: Baffling recurrence of iritis
Question: I recently had my third bout of iritis. The first time was about 12 years ago. My ophthalmologist has never been able to figure out why it happens. Do you have any ideas? Is there any way for me to prevent it from happening again?
Question:
I recently had my third bout of iritis. The first time was about 12 years ago. My ophthalmologist has never been able to figure out why it happens. Do you have any ideas? Is there any way for me to prevent it from happening again?
Answer:
For those unfamiliar with iritis, it's an inflammation of the colored muscular fibers of the iris that control the amount of light entering the eye through the pupil. The iris fibers create a large pupil opening in dim light and a small pupil opening in bright light.
The cause of iritis in most cases is unknown, but there are certain diseases associated with it that must be considered. These include: ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease.
Certain infectious diseases may also be associated with iritis. If you feel well and don't have any of those chronic medical illnesses and don't have an active infection, we may not be able to identify a cause for your recurrent iritis. Eye trauma is another cause for acute iritis.
A person should suspect iritis when one eye is reddened and painful to light. There may also be blurred vision and headache. Some folks may confuse it with conjunctivitis (i.e., "pink eye"), but conjunctivitis doesn't typically cause eye pain, blurry vision and light sensitivity. An ophthalmologist can readily identify it with a slit-lamp eye exam.
Treatment includes eye drops to dilate the pupil and relax the inflamed iris muscles, steroid eye drops and/or pills and/or injections around the eye to reduce swelling, pain medication, and the use of sunglasses.
Numbing eye drops don't help much in iritis. Iritis not caused by eye trauma usually clears up within a month or two. Unless there's an underlying disease process causing the iritis, there's no way to prevent it. Folks prone to recurrent iritis may be prescribed steroid eye drops to use at the earliest sign of iritis. For more information, contact the Iritis Organization (
» READ MORE: www.iritis.org
).
Hot tubs pose many dangers to baby
Q:
What's your opinion on placing an 8-month-old baby in a hot tub to make the baby tired? My sister thinks this is safe and normal, but I disagree. Who's right?
A:
Whether your sister is using a bathtub or a "hot tub" (like a Jacuzzi), it's a situation where her baby may be at risk for all sorts of problems.
First of all, a baby's skin is soft and easily burned by prolonged exposure to hot water, so I recommend using a bath thermometer.
The water should be 95 to 100 degrees. Your sister may be keeping the baby in hot water longer than if her baby was just getting a bath.
Keep a baby away from the bathtub spout; it could splash on baby's skin, causing burns.
Spending prolonged time in a hot bath can also lead to increased sweating and dehydration. If your sister is using a Jacuzzi-type hot tub, she's putting her baby in grave danger.
While the bubbling of water may be relaxing to an adult, a baby faces a high risk of drowning or aspirating water. If Mom is holding her baby, and the baby squirms and slips from her grasp, the baby could drown.
A baby needs to be continually supervised and held or placed in a bath seat that secures to the bottom of the tub. In a bath tub, there's also a risk of baby slipping from your grip, so it's a good idea to use a wash mitt on one hand to hold the baby. Never leave a baby unattended - even for a few seconds.
Finally, what's going to happen when the baby gets out of that nice warm tub? The baby's going to dry off and feel the cooling effect of evaporation, which will likely perk up baby from that relaxed state. That would defeat the purpose of the hot tub, wouldn't it?
Bathing is a necessary part of caring for your baby; prolonged time in a hot tub to relax a baby isn't. A warm sponge bath is a whole lot safer.