A 36-year-old man in Xi’an, China, has gone blind in his right eye after stopping medication for oral ulcers, which he had been suffering from for over 20 years, reports Chinese media Weihai News.
Mr Li, the patient, had been dealing with recurring oral ulcers every month for years.
He often attributed the pain to “heat” in the body.
Source: Weihai News via NetEase
However, five years ago, Mr Li started experiencing blurred vision, redness, and pain in both eyes, accompanied by another episode of severe oral ulcers.
A doctor’s visit revealed that he had Behçet’s disease and uveitis, which causes inflammation in many parts of the body, including the eyes.
While the cause of the disease is unknown, it is believed to be an autoimmune disorder.
Following treatment, Mr Li’s symptoms gradually eased and the condition was brought under control.
However, after feeling better, Mr Li stopped taking his medication.
In the following years, he only intermittently took steroids.
However, he did not have regular follow-ups, and failed to adhere to the treatment.
Mr Li reportedly lost vision in his right eye three months ago.
Meanwhile, the condition of his left eye also began to decline rapidly.
An ophthalmologist at Xi’an City People’s Hospital attributed his blindness to “severe ocular inflammation and secondary glaucoma caused by a relapse of Behçet’s disease”.
Mr Li has received emergency treatment at the hospital’s Rheumatology and Immunology Department.
However, due to prolonged inflammation and repeated flare-ups, the optic nerve in his right eye was severely damaged.
As such, doctors could not restore his vision in that eye.
Fortunately, Mr Li’s left eye received timely intervention.
Following combined therapy, his vision significantly improved.
Also read: Boy in China becomes blind on one eye after teacher applied lard to his eye injury
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Featured image adapted from Healthline for illustration purposes only.