W5 Investigates: They got tattoos when they were young, then the vision problems started
Elisha Thompson of Oshawa, Ont. was 15 years old when she got her first tattoo, and she went on to get many more. She never thought the tattoos she had could one day affect her eyesight.
www.ctvnews.ca
Elisha Thompson of Oshawa, Ont. was 15 years old when she got her first tattoo, and she went on to get many more. She never thought the tattoos she had could one day affect her eyesight.
“I went to school and I was like, ‘guys, I’m getting a tattoo and I was so excited,’” said Thompson, who added, “after that, it was a snowball effect and I started getting more and more tattoos.”
But later in her early 20s, Thompson started to have eyesight symptoms that were difficult for doctors to treat. In the early stages it was never clear that her tattoos, which had become tender and inflamed, were connected to her eyesight issues.
“My eyes would be crusted over. They would be red, I would have to put on sunglasses, and any type of light would hurt my eyes,” said Thompson.
Thompson was diagnosed with tattoo-associated uveitis as her immune system was reacting to the tattoo ink causing eye pain, light sensitivity, and some vision loss.
Thompson is currently on medication to manage her eyesight issues, but said, “I have no vision in my centre-vision in my right eye.”
An Australian study linking tattoos to vision loss is creating concerns in Canada, and a W5 investigation found that even though the condition is very rare, there appears to be a growing number of Canadians who have vision problems related to their tattoos.
What is uveitis?
An Australian report titled “Tattoo-Associated Uveitis: An Emerging Eye Health Challenge” found 40 cases of tattoo-associated uveitis identified in Australia. The report states “this previously rare condition has become a regular entity in Australian uveitis clinics.”Uveitis is when there is inflammation of the uvea, the middle layer of the eye, which can cause severe pain, redness, blurry vision, and light sensitivity. It is considered a serious condition that could lead to permanent vision loss or blindness if left untreated. Uveitis is rare and tattoo-associated uveitis is considered rarer still.
It occurs when someone has an immune reaction causing eyesight issues, while at the same time the patients tattoos may become raised, itchy, scaly as well as tender and inflamed.
W5 contacted Ophthalmologist Dr. Josephine Richards in Perth, Australia who took part in the study. She says she was concerned when 10 of her patients in Perth, a city of about 2.3 million, were confirmed to have tattoo-associated uveitis. After connecting with colleagues, they were able to find there were at total of 40 cases of tattoo-associated uveitis in Australia. She suspects there are many more.
Richards says the Australian study is important to let other eyecare professional around the world know there could be a correlation between vision loss, eye pain and tattoos.
“If other ophthalmologists and optometrists can be aware that this is an issue, they can look it up and they can see it is quite a serious problem,” said Richards, who added “it will also allow us to raise awareness and seek funding for research to prevent this happening to others in the future.”
W5 reached out to Dr. Nupura Bakshi, a retina and uveitis specialist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and a member of the Board of Directors with the Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Bakshi said while the Australian case study is important to highlight the issue of tattoo-associated uveitis, she and others have seen individual cases of tattoo-associated uveitis over the years.
“I had my first patient with this condition over 10 years ago. There are patients who have a tattoo, and something in the tattoo triggers their immune system to recognize it as foreign. And then it attacks the eye,” said Bakshi. “It’s important to note it’s not just the tattoo. It’s part of a systemic autoimmune disease in many patients.”
More at: W5 Investigates: They got tattoos when they were young, then the vision problems started
the mummy 
