Diagnosis

Your eye doctor will conduct a complete eye exam, including:

• External examination. Your doctor might use a penlight to look at your pupils, observe the pattern of redness in one or both eyes, and check for signs of discharge.
• Visual acuity. Your doctor tests how sharp your vision is using an eye chart and other standard tests.
• Slit-lamp examination. Using a special microscope with a light on it, your doctor views the inside of your eye looking for signs of iritis. Dilating your pupil with eyedrops enables your doctor to see the inside of your eye better.

If your eye doctor suspects that a disease or condition is causing your iritis, he or she may work with your primary care doctor to pinpoint the underlying cause. In that case, further testing might include blood tests or X-rays to identify or rule out specific causes.