McFly’s Tom Fletcher details unexpected A&E visit after shock ‘flare up’

‘Woke up feeling (and looking) like I'd been smashed in the fact,’ said McFly singer

Tom Fletcher has revealed that he had an unexpected visit to A&E earlier this week after he woke up looking like he had been “smashed in the fact”.

The McFly singer lives with a rare autoimmune condition called uveitis, which causes inflammation on the inside part of your eye.

In a selfie shared on Monday (31 March), one of Fletcher’s eyes appeared swollen and droopy.

He wrote: “My autoimmune thing flared up out of nowhere last night (Sunday). Woke up feeling (and looking) like I'd been smashed in the fact! This is after it had calmed down and I could see again.”

“Not the day I had planned. Uveitis sucks!” he said, adding that he to take six weeks of eye drops.

In another post, Fletcher shared a picture of the A&E entrance at The Western Eye Hospital in London, writing: “Hate having to come here but so thankful it exists. The doctors and nurses have helped me out so many times now.”

He added: “Very grateful to have a dedicated eye A&E hospital in London! It’s the 2nd time I’ve stumbled into that place holding my eyes and they’ve been amazing. Also, shout out to my amazing optician, Dipesh at @parkerandhammond who was giving me advice at nearly midnight last night.”

At the time, he added that he was prescribed six weeks of steroids, sitting in dark rooms and wearing sunglasses.

The McFly singer lives with a rare autoimmune condition called uveitis, an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation inside the eye (Instagram via @tomfletcher)

Fletcher last shared an update on his condition in 2023, just months after he was in hospital for similar symptoms.

Speaking in 2023, Fletcher said: “Sorry I've been quiet for a bit. I was wiped out with some sort of illness and in bed for a few days. I just got back on my feet yesterday and uveitis decided to kick me down again.”

Tom Fletcher shared an update on his Uveitis condition in 2023, telling fans he had to sit in dark rooms and wear sunglasses during his recovery (Instagram via @tomfletcher)

Uveitis, also known as iritis, is a rare condition that causes inflammation inside part of your eye. It is important that treatment happens quickly to avoid long-term complications such as vision loss and blindness.

According to the NHS, symptoms of the condition include, eye pain, which may worsen when reading, red or watery eyes, reduced or blurred vision, sensitivity to light and lights in the corner of your eyes or dark spots.

Symptoms can develop quickly, in a matter of hours and days, or more gradually over weeks or months. Sometimes it does not cause any symptoms.