Thyroid eye disease treatment

Thyroid Eye Disease Cause, Effect and Treatment

Thyroid eye disease has been observed in both hyper and hypo thyroid patients. The condition, referred to as thyroid orbitopathy, or TO for short, manifests itself in the inflammation and swelling of the fat and muscles close to the eyes. To be fair, in most cases overactive thyroid sufferers suffer from TO.
When the thyroid is under attack by the immune systems, its response is to manufacture more thyroid hormones. It so happens that simultaneously, the auto-antibodies attack the soft tissues surrounding the eyes.
Thyroid eye disease physical manifestations and effect on vision
Physical effects of thyroid disease on the eyes are usually all or a combination of some of the following:

- Puffy and retracted eyelids

- Exophthalmos or bulging eyes

- Double vision caused by the unnatural bulging of the eyeballs, called diplopia

- Dry eyes exacerbated by the bulging of the eyeballs outside the eye sockets

- Eye muscle pain

The swelling eye muscles make it a challenge to control eye movement, and eye movement is no longer synchronized. This is what results in diplopia (double vision), because both eyes no longer move in the same direction at the same time. Obviously, reading, writing and driving become a challenge. It is possible that glasses may help vision enough to be able to legally hold a drivers license.

In younger patients whose eye muscles are too tight to allow for bulging, where thyroid eye disease is severe, the optic nerves become compressed, and this causes colours to lose their sharpness and definition. Permanent injury can occur if left untreated. As soon as symptoms become apparent, consult your doctor. Depending on the severity and permanence of the injury, treatments may be in the form of orbital radiotherapy, decompression surgery, steroids or immunosuppressant medications.

Thyroid eye disease treatment

For the dry eye symptoms, eye lubricant drops can be administered. This will help the eye retain moisture closer to its natural state and reduce the damage that is caused by dryness. There are several brands – Optive, No More Tears, to name just two.
The double vision effect caused by thyroid eye disease may require glasses as mentioned earlier. It is necessary to get an ophthalmologist on board to analyze each individual case accordingly and prescribe appropriately.
Occlusion may be recommended to treat with the issue of double vision. This is simple treatment just using a single eye patch so that the brain sees only a single image generated by the uncovered eye.

Prisms, which are light benders, can be used along with spectacles for temporary double vision. In cases of permanent double vision, the prisms can be used until the correct angle of the light is ascertained to be incorporated within the glasses lens.

Any permanent damage cause by thyroid eye disease can result in permanent double vision, which may be corrected surgically.

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external links
wikipedia: thyroid diet