May 17, 2010 
In addition that it can lead to age-related macular degeneration (which usually ends in blindness), this unhealthy habit can also cause eye inflammation …
Uveitis is inflammation of the middle membrane of the eye uvea which consists of the iris, air body and choroid. Symptoms include eye redness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, dark spots floating in the visual field and pain.
Roughly 60 different causes can be responsible for the development of uveitis, and now experts at the University of California showed that smoking is one of them.
When they analyzed the health data and smoking status of patients with inflammation of the eye in one clinic over the period since 2002. until 2009, the experts have found that smokers were 2.2 times more likely to uveitis, than people who do not smoke (35.5 percent compared to 23.6 percent non-smoking patients).
“Cigarette smoke includes substances that stimulate inflammation inside blood vessels, which may contribute to immune disorders and uveitis,” explained doctor Nisha Acharya, the head author of research published in the journal Oftalmology.
If you notice symptoms of uveitis, immediately contact your eye doctor because this may damage the essential structure of the eye such as iris and retina. People with symptomatic diseases such as multiple sclerosis or juvenile arthritis can also develop this disease, and it may even be part of the body reaction to the infection of herpes simplex virus, or tuberculosis.
Taken from: www.ordinacija.hr Author: K. Horvat