Thyroid Eye Disease
January is Thyroid Awareness Month. With that in mind we thought it could be a great time to shed some light on thyroid eye disease. This is a disease that is correlated with your thyroid.
What is Thyroid Eye Disease? (or TED)
TED is when the eye muscles, eyelids, tear glands, and fatty tissues behind your eyes become inflamed. It can also be referred to as Graves Orbitopathy or Ophthalmopathy. At its core it is an autoimmune decision, which means the immune system attacks the tissue surrounding the eye.
The same autoimmune system condition that causes TED also affects the thyroid gland. This can result in Graves Disease. Graves Disease causes thyroid over or under activity. It is more common that it will cause thyroid overactivity. TED can occur in people with overactive, underactive or a normal functioning thyroid. People who have TED usually need to be seen by both an ophthalmologist and a thyroid specialist.
Symptoms
- Red eyes
- Swollen Eyes
- Uncomfortable eyes
- Bulging Eyes
- Water eyes
- Feeling grittiness in the eye
- dry eyes
- blurred or double vision
What are the chances you could get TED?
Usually about a quarter of people with Graves disease end up developing TED. Your chances of developing TED increases by eight times if you smoke cigarettes’.
TED can be managed once diagnosed. There are many things you can do to relieve the symptoms ranging from artificial teardrops to surgery.
Our goal is to bring more awareness to this condition so our patients know what to look out for. We want to be able to help our patients with their overall health starting with their eyes!