episcleritis

Question 1

what is episcleritis?

Answer 1

Episcleritis is describes the acute onset of inflammation in the episclera of one or both eyes.

Question 2

assoc conditions?

Answer 2

mostly idiopathic
inflammatory bowel disease
rheumatoid arthritis

Question 3

features?

Answer 3

red eye
classically not painful (in comparison to scleritis), but mild pain/irritation is common
watering and mild photophobia may be present
in episcleritis, the injected vessels are mobile when gentle pressure is applied on the sclera
in scleritis, vessels are deeper, hence do not move
phenylephrine drops may be used to differentiate between episcleritis and scleritis
phenylephrine blanches the conjunctival and episcleral vessels but not the scleral vessels
if the eye redness improves after phenylephrine a diagnosis of episcleritis can be made
approximately 50% of cases are bilateral

Question 4

mx?

Answer 4

conservative
artificial tears may sometimes be used