{"id":2627,"date":"2020-03-16T13:10:17","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T13:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/royal-eye\/?p=2627"},"modified":"2025-10-23T13:22:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T13:22:47","slug":"manchester-uveitis-clinic-advice-for-patients-using-medication-by-mouth-or-by-injection-to-treat-uveitis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/royal-eye\/manchester-uveitis-clinic-advice-for-patients-using-medication-by-mouth-or-by-injection-to-treat-uveitis\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester Uveitis Clinic: Advice for patients using medication (by mouth or by injection) to treat uveitis"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Manchester Uveitis Clinic, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19):<\/strong>
\nAdvice for patients using medication by mouth or by injection, to treat uveitis<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Last updated 20\/03\/2020<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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We are now advising that patients on immunosuppression do not attend face-to-face clinic appointments at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital to minimise the risk of coronavirus infection. We will organise a telephone consultation and only if a face-to-face visit is unavoidable will this still be arranged. The medical team will be able to discuss your condition, medication and monitoring bloods with you. We strongly recommend you minimise your risk of exposure to coronavirus by strict social-distancing and by staying at home as much as possible.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

[\/vc_cta][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It is caused by a virus called coronavirus.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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It is known that infections of any sort can be more serious if your immune system is not working properly. Some treatments for uveitis cause this immune suppression. Patients taking immunosuppression medications are not at increased risk of catching coronavirus but may be more severely affected if they do get it. Steroids (Prednisolone), immunosuppression (agents listed below) and biologic therapies (listed below) affect the function of the immune system and if you are taking these for uveitis (and\/or other conditions) your immune system function will be suppressed to some extent. The level of immunosuppression depends on the dose, combination of treatments and any other health conditions.\u00a0 The following medications are all immunosuppressant treatment:<\/p>\n

Azathioprine<\/p>\n

Adalimumab<\/p>\n

Ciclosporin<\/p>\n

Infliximab<\/p>\n

Methotrexate<\/p>\n

Mycophenolate mofetil<\/p>\n

Tacrolimus<\/p>\n

You may also be immune suppressed if you have been treated in the last year with cyclophosphamide or rituximab.<\/p>\n

Advice on medication:<\/strong><\/p>\n

We have taken note of all Government advice, and instructions given by the Medical Director of this Hospital Trust. We have also discussed this specific issue with physician colleagues who also use immunosuppression, and have researched the medical literature.<\/p>\n

Having taken these steps, our current advice is that if you are immune suppressed, you should not stop your medication. If you do so, there is a significant possibility that your eye inflammation will worsen, and any steps then taken to control it may lead to greater problems. The risk from this medication in relation to Coronavirus is small.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Information on coronavirus:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Up to date information from the UK Government can be found online \u00a0on the following websites:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/111.nhs.uk\/covid-19<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/conditions\/coronavirus-covid-19\/<\/a><\/p>\n

If you are immunosuppressed it is important to take precautions to reduce the risk of infection and we recommend you regularly review the guidance on the above Government websites. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Symptoms of coronavirus<\/strong><\/p>\n

The symptoms of coronavirus are:<\/p>\n