white spot in iris

[lliinn]

I have really dark brown eyes.  In one of my eyes, there are three little white spots in the iris. I've searched online to see if this could be an eye condition that I would need to be concerned about and I couldn't find anything!  I'll be very grateful for any information you can give me. My vision is pretty bad and it gets worse every year. I also have a picture for you to look at.  You'll see that one section of my iris is a bit brighter than the rest of the iris. It may seem like there's just a reflection from the light source I used, but it's really not. Thank you!

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Your friend sounds like a "downer".  Your friend is likely thinking of "Brushfield spots".  The pathologists call the iris spots "nevus" but freckle is something everyone understands.

JCH MD

[lliinn]

Wow, that was a fast response! I never thought they would be considered freckles... My friend told me those white spots could be associated with down syndrome.  I'm glad and relieved it's not. Thank you!

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Like the skin the iris can have lighter and darker areas and can have spots (called iris freckles   Use Google IMAGE and see what they look like)  Iris tumors (melanomas) are very rare and very benign as are other serious tumors of the iris.  See an Eye MD for an exam to be certain. Ask the staff to have the Eye MD look at your before the iris is dilated.

JCH MD