Treatment In-depthTreatments for anterior uveitis may include one or more of the following:
Symptomatic therapy, regardless of the cause. Symptomatic therapy includes general supportive care of a sick animal such as fluids, nutritional support, antibiotics and pain relief. Examples of symptomatic therapy for the eye may include:
Topical Medications (drops and ointments for the eye) Anti-inflammation medication. Steroids: prednisolone, dexamethasone, betamethasone. Non-steroidal drugs: flurbiprofen, diclofenac, suprofen.
Cycloplegic drugs such as atropine stabilize the blood vessels and dilate the pupil. This can provide comfort by paralyzing muscles of the iris, since they spasm when there is inflammation.
Oral and Injectable Medications
Anti-inflammatory medicine including corticosteroids (prednisone, dexamethasone) and nonsteroidal drugs like carprofen and aspirin. Oral corticosteroids are not used when infectious diseases are present. They are used primarily to treat immune-mediated disease.
Specific therapy is only used when there is a definitive diagnosis or high suspicion of a specific cause. Some examples:
Itraconazole is used for fungal diseases.
Doxycycline is used for tick-transmitted diseases, including Lyme disease.
Other antibiotics for certain other infections such as leptospirosis and toxoplasmosis.
Immune suppressants (prednisone, azathioprine) are used for immune-mediated diseases.
Insulin is administered to diabetic animals.
Surgical intervention is most common for tumors in the eye or when complications such as glaucoma cannot be controlled with medications. Frequently in these cases, the eye is surgically removed (enucleation). If a cataract or wound to the lens is responsible for the uveitis, then the entire lens may need to be removed.
