Sympathetic ophthalmia
Evidence: Antibody
Names
Spared Eye Injury
Exciting Eye
Sympathizing Eye
Description
Sympathetic Ophthalmia (SO) is a rare inflammatory condition that affects both eyes following trauma or surgery to one of the eyes. The immune system is sensitized to proteins from the damaged eye and then attacks those same proteins in the uninjured (or “spared” eye), leading to inflammation of the uninjured eye. Sympathetic ophthalmia is a form of uveitis. The disease can lead to blindness.
Patient Groups
Bloggers
Prevalence
US incidence: Unknown, but very rare (less than 100 US cases per year). Incidence ranges from 0.2% to 0.5% following injury and 0.01% following intraocular surgery
[Arevalo 2012]
Typical Age of onset
Begins after injury or surgery to one eye. The time from injury to start of SO ranges from several days to several decades, with the majority of cases occurring within one year of trauma to the eye. [Chu 2013]
Symptoms
Pain in injured eye
Redness in injured eye
Blurred vision
Extreme sensitivity to light (photophobia)
“Floaters” in visual field
Watery eyes
Visual impairment
Blindness
Hearing loss
Headache
Patchy loss of skin pigmentation (vitiligo)
