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Thyroid Eye Disease

Thyroid eye disease is an autoimmune eye disease, rarely associated with thyroid disease itself.

Thyroid eye disease is often seen in conjunction with Grave’s disease and occasionally in patients with Hashimoto’s disease. Most thyroid patients will not develop thyroid eye disease and, if so, only mildly. Signs and symptoms of thyroid eye disease include:

Pain in the eyes, particularly when looking up, down or sideways
Dryness and itching
Inflammation or swelling of the eye
Lid retraction
Swelling of the orbital tissue which causes the eye to be pushed forward, giving the appearance of a wide-eyed or bulging stare
Bloodshot appearance of the eye
Double vision
Impaired vision

Thyroid eye disease goes through varying degrees of severity and is also known to go through periods of remission. Treatments for thyroid eye disease may include:

Eye drops
Ointments
Surgery
Radiation Therapy