Fourth Annual Prevent Blindness Inflammatory Eye Disease (IED) Awareness Week Declared as Sept. 16 – 22, 2024

Prevent Blindness has declared Sept. 16-22, 2024, as the fourth annual Inflammatory Eye Disease (IED) Awareness Week. Prevent Blindness is offering a variety of free educational IED resources as part of the observance, including fact sheets and social media graphics in English and Spanish, a dedicated webpage, and expert videos. IED Awareness Week is supported by a grant from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals.

IED includes a range of conditions associated with eye inflammation. Eye inflammation occurs in response to a variety of causes such as infection, allergies, autoimmune disorders, irritation, injury, or trauma to the eyes, eyelids, or surrounding tissues. Although most cases of eye inflammation can be successfully treated, serious disease may be present in rare cases. Early diagnosis and treatment by an eye care professional is important to help relieve symptoms and potentially save sight.

There are several different types of IEDs, including:

• Uveitis, the most common form of inflammatory eye disease, causes about 30,000 new cases of blindness each year in the United States. According to the Mayo Clinic, types of uveitis are defined by which part or parts of the eye are inflamed, including Anterior, Intermediate, Posterior and Panuveitis.

• Keratitis, also known as a corneal ulcer, is an inflammation of the cornea. Although treatable, this condition is the most common cause of corneal blindness caused by infection in the United States. Infectious keratitis can be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Noninfectious keratitis may result from an injury, improper use of contact lenses, or dry eye.

• Thyroid Eye Disease, sometimes referred to as Graves’ Eye Disease, is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system causes inflammation and swelling and stimulates the production of muscle tissue and fat behind the eye. Up to one-half of people with Graves’ disease develop thyroid eye disease. In some people, thyroid eye disease can occur with normal levels of thyroid hormones or low levels of thyroid hormones.

• Conjunctivitis, also known as “pink eye,” is an inflammation of the conjunctiva. It is the most common eye infection in the United States. Conjunctivitis can be very contagious.

The Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Expert Series has a variety of IED episodes including:

• Uveitis and Inflammatory Eye Diseases featuring Steven Yeh, MD, Professor and Stanley Truhlsen Jr. Chair of Ophthalmology, Truhlsen Eye Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Yeh is also a volunteer on the Prevent Blindness Scientific Committee.

• Thyroid Eye Disease and Mental Wellness with Dr. Prem Subramanian, neuro-ophthalmologist with the UCHealth Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center.

• Thyroid Eye Disease with Sara T. Wester, MD, FACS, professor of clinical ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, and TED patient Stephen Bander.

• Inflammatory Eye Disease with Ann-Marie Lobo-Chan, MD, MS, Associate Professor, Co-Director, Uveitis Service, Director, Uveitis/Medical Retina Fellowship, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois College of Medicine.

“Because of the risk of vision loss, it’s essential for individuals to see an eye care professional if they experience symptoms,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “We encourage people to visit our website, download our fact sheets and watch our free educational videos to learn more about IEDs and how to protect their sight.”

For more information on inflammatory eye disease, please visit https://preventblindness.org/inflammatory-eye-disease.
For a listing of vision care financial assistance programs in English or Spanish, visit https://preventblindness.org/vision-care-financial-assistance-information.