Thyroid Eye Disease is a type of health situation in which your eyes get inflamed with visible swelling and irritation. It causes damage to the tissues surrounding your eyes, including the fatty tissues, connecting tissues, and muscles. It is an autoimmune disease, meaning that the body is attacked and damaged by its own immune system.
Thyroid eye disease has two distinct phases called the active phase and the stable phase. The active or inflammatory phase is when your eyes suffer damage because of the inflammation, while the stable stage is a period of stability after the inflammation has been cured.
Who Can Get Thyroid Eye Disease?
Although both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism can give rise to TED, generally people with hyperthyroidism are the worst sufferers. However, even people with normal thyroid levels can also suffer from thyroid eye disease. It tends to affect women and people assigned females at birth far more than men and people assigned males at birth. You are also more likely to get this disease if you have a history of thyroid abnormalities in your family or have low levels of selenium in your body.
Symptoms Of Thyroid Eye Disease
Some symptoms of Thyroid Eye Disease are:
- Dryness in the eyes
- Constant watering of the eyes
- Proptosis or bulging eyes
- Redness in the eyes
- Diplopia or double vision
- Pain with eye movements
- Pain behind the eyes
- Difficulty in closing the eyes completely
- Irritation in the eyes
- A distinct stare
These symptoms are generally felt in both eyes. However, it is not uncommon for them to appear in one eye only. Through a physical eye examination and a blood test for thyroid levels, your doctor would be able to diagnose if you have TED. Other tests like an ultrasound of the eyes, an MRI, and a CT scan might also be prescribed.
Solution: Treatment Of Thyroid Eye Disease
This disease is generally treated through a combination of over-the-counter eye drops and prescription anti-inflammatory drugs. Lifestyle changes like quitting smoking, wearing sunglasses, wearing prism glasses, and using a cold compress can also be helpful. Surgeries like eyelid surgery and eye muscle surgery can also help solve the problem.
Conclusion
Hope you have enough insight about thyroid eye disease and how to treat it. It is extremely necessary to understand the symptoms at an early stage so you can opt for the treatment and get rid of the complications. However, if you or your loved ones are suffering from this disease, you can come to The Retina Centre and get effective treatment from the best ophthalmologists in India.