Thyroid eye disorder is a condition in which our own immune cells attack the thyroid gland which results in either over or under production of thyroid hormones. In such case, the soft tissues surrounding our eyes get inflamed. Generally, this disease happens with a person suffering from overactive thyroid gland. Although thyroid eye disorder can occur at any age, the average age for having this disease is considered to be around 45 years.
Majorly, all the symptoms to discover thyroid eye disease arise as a result of swollen tissue around the eye. The early symptoms to diagnose this disease are watering of eyes, light sensitivity (photophobia), swollen eyelid, dry eyes or irritation in the eyes, a feeling of pressure on the eye socket, double vision, retraction of the eyelid and loss of vision.
In severe cases, the cornea of the eye may even ulcerate which occurs due to a combination of the eyes bulging forward and scarring and resulting in the eyelids retracting backward. Also, in certain situations optic nerve may get damaged due to thickened, inflamed and/or scarred muscles impinging on the optic nerve at the back of the socket. Either of the above mentioned situations may result in a permanent loss of vision if not treated appropriately by a good eye surgeon.
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Other issues associated with thyroid eye disease are blurred vision, impaired colour vision and most notably double vision also called diplopia. Thyroid eye disease swells the tissues surrounding the eye socket which pushes one eye forward, compressing the optic nerve causing blurred vision. Eye fatigue and eye soreness are the major outcomes of this disease.
It is often observed that cigarette smokers have significantly more risk to develop this disease.
The first priority should be to deal with the primary thyroid problem. Consult an opthamologist. To start, doctors suggest anti-thyroid drugs which should only be taken under the prescription of doctor, followed by either surgery or radiotherapy. The treatment often produces an under active thyroid, which requires treatment with thyroid replacement therapy.
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