Patient education: Chorioretinitis (The Basics)

What is chorioretinitis? — This is an eye condition that can cause dark spots in your vision or vision loss. It involves the back of the eye. In chorioretinitis, structures in the back of the eye called the "choroid" and "retina" get inflamed (figure 1).

Chorioretinitis can be caused by different things. Often, it's caused by an infection.

What are the symptoms of chorioretinitis? — It is usually painless. Common symptoms can include:

●Seeing dark spots (called "floaters") in your vision

●Vision loss

●Poor vision at night

Not everyone with these symptoms has chorioretinitis. Different eye conditions can also cause these symptoms.

Will I need tests? — Maybe. Your doctor or nurse will ask about your symptoms and other medical problems. You will also have a detailed eye exam. This will probably be done by an eye specialist. They will use a magnifying tool to look in the back of your eye.

Your doctor might also do tests to check for an infection that could be causing your chorioretinitis. These tests can include blood tests or a chest X-ray.

How is chorioretinitis treated? — It is usually treated by an eye specialist.

Treatment depends, in part, on what's causing your chorioretinitis. If an infection or other medical condition is causing it, your doctor will treat that infection or condition.

Other treatment depends on how mild or severe the inflammation is. If the inflammation is mild, your doctor might not treat it. But they will monitor your condition to make sure that it doesn't get worse.

If the inflammation is more serious, your doctor will treat it. Treatment might involve getting a shot of a steroid medicine into your eye or around your eye. Steroids help with inflammation.

If the steroid shot doesn't help enough, your doctor might prescribe steroid pills or other medicines.

More on this topic

Patient education: Uveitis (The Basics)