Treatment
Iritis
Iritis is treated with eye drops. The doctor or nurse will show you how to use the drops properly.
Types of eye drops
There are 2 types of drops that are commonly prescribed for iritis.
You should always refer to the patient leaflet that comes with the eye drops for details of side effects.
Dilating eye drops
This type of eyedrop will dilate (make bigger) your pupil (black of your eye). The drops will help to relieve pain, and rest the eye, but will temporarily blur your vision, especially for reading and close work.
Wearing tinted glasses or sunglasses will help to relieve any light sensitivity caused by these drops. As we usually only put the drops in 1 eye, you will be able to drive. The blurring will last the whole time that you are being treated with the eye drops, and treatment usually lasts for 1 or 2 weeks.
When the treatment is completed, your pupil size will slowly return to normal and the blurred vision should go. This might take a few days if you have very brown eyes.
Steroid eye drops
The other type of eye drops is a steroid-based medicine. These reduce the inflammation, help with healing, and will not blur your vision. It's important that you use these drops regularly and that you do not stop the treatment suddenly.
Steroid eye drops might need to be reduced gradually, depending on how long you have been using them. Your doctor will give you more information about this.
Sometimes, if your iritis is very bad, you might have to come back to the eye clinic for an injection of steroids around your eye.
Important
Do not use eyedrops that have been open for more than 4 weeks. They might not be sterile and could cause an eye infection.
After treatment
Most episodes of iritis last for 6 to 8 weeks.
Your symptoms should disappear in a few days, but you will need to take the treatment for longer while the inflammation goes down.
It's very rare for iritis to permanently damage your vision. You'll need to come back to the eye casualty department (rapid access clinic) for a follow-up appointment so that we can check your progress. We will give you details of your follow-up appointment before you leave the clinic.
If the inflammation does not go away, you will be referred to a specialist clinic.
Go to the eye casualty department if:
- the treatment is making the problem worse
We will need to review your treatment.
If you do not get treatment
The pain and light sensitivity might increase. Your vision might become worse.
What to do if iritis comes back
Come back to the eye casualty department or rapid access clinic as soon as possible.
Do not restart any previous treatment.
Resource number: 2219/VER6
Last reviewed: January 2026
Next review: January 2029
