Prevent Blindness Kicks Off Fifth Annual Inflammatory Eye Disease Week

CHICAGO—Prevent Blindness, a leading nonprofit eye health and patient advocacy organization, has declared the week of Oct. 20 to 26, 2025, as the fifth annual Inflammatory Eye Disease (IED) Week. In observance of this awareness initiative, the group is offering a variety of free educational resources, including a dedicated webpage, updated social media graphics, several downloadable fact sheets in English and Spanish, as well as a selection of videos. Prevent Blindness noted that IED Awareness Week is supported by a grant from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals.

There are several different types of IEDs, the group noted, including conjunctivitis, keratitis, thyroid eye disease and scleritis. Uveitis, the most common form of IED, affects the uvea and can include anterior uveitis (iritis), intermediate uveitis and posterior uveitis. Panuveitis, another type of IED, affects all layers of the uvea. In some cases where inflammation is recurrent and chronic, damage to the eye can occur, the group advised, particularly to the retina and optic nerve, and cause permanent vision loss. Signs and symptoms of uveitis include eye redness, eye pain, light sensitivity; blurred vision; dark, floating spots in the field of vision (floaters); and decreased vision.

Prevent Blindness offers several IED episodes in its Focus on Eye Health Expert Series, including:

• Uveitis and Inflammatory Eye Diseases featuring Steven Yeh, MD, professor and Stanley Truhlsen Jr. chair of ophthalmology, Truhlsen Eye Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Yeh is also a volunteer on the Prevent Blindness Scientific Committee.
• Inflammatory Eye Disease with Ann-Marie Lobo-Chan, MD, MS, associate professor, co-director, Uveitis Service, director, Uveitis/Medical Retina Fellowship, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois College of Medicine.
• Thyroid Eye Disease and Mental Wellness with Dr. Prem Subramanian, neuro-ophthalmologist with the UCHealth Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center.
• Thyroid Eye Disease with Sara T. Wester, MD, FACS, professor of clinical ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, and TED patient Stephen Bander.

The group noted that early diagnosis and treatment are vital for saving eyesight, with Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness, adding, “Inflammatory eye disease encompasses a range of conditions. If left untreated, IEDs can result in significant vision loss. We urge anyone who has IED symptoms to schedule an appointment with an eye doctor right away.”

For more information on inflammatory eye disease, click here.