Big and protruding eyes may be a disease

Modern urbanites lead fast-paced lives and face great mental stress. Staying up late and overwork have become the norm. Coupled with bad eating habits that are heavy in oil and salt, they are prone to thyroid diseases, which may lead to thyroid-related eye diseases. Ye Jianzhang, director of the Cornea and Ocular Surface Department of Dongguan Aier Eye Hospital affiliated to Jinan University, was invited to explain the "key points" for the prevention and treatment of thyroid-related eye diseases.

Will having thyroid gland definitely lead to related eye diseases?

Patients with hyperthyroidism do not necessarily develop thyroid-related eye disease. Among patients with thyroid abnormalities, the incidence of thyroid-related eye disease with diffuse goiter (Graves disease, GD) is about 25%-50%.

Director Ye Jianzhang pointed out that once thyroid-related eye disease occurs, patients may have typical symptoms such as exophthalmos, eyelid retraction, ocular motility disorders, diplopia, and may even have exposure keratitis or even corneal ulcers. Severe cases may cause corneal perforation or endophthalmitis, and may also lead to compressive optic neuropathy, decreased vision or vision loss.

Which of the following symptoms appears first: the eye symptoms or the systemic symptoms of hyperthyroidism?

The systemic symptoms of hyperthyroidism include hand tremors, sweating, irritability, rapid heartbeat, weight loss, and irregular menstruation in women. Overall, there is no definite order in which thyroid-related eye diseases and these symptoms are discovered.

Some eye symptoms appear first, some occur at the same time, and some develop eye disease only after hyperthyroidism is diagnosed. In general, thyroid-related eye disease more often occurs in the short term after thyroid dysfunction.

If hyperthyroidism is cured, will the eye disease also be cured?

When hyperthyroidism worsens, symptoms such as bulging eyes will also worsen, so actively treating hyperthyroidism can help alleviate the development of thyroid-related eye diseases.
However, the edema of the soft tissue in the eye socket and the thickening and fibrosis of the eye muscles cannot be eliminated overnight, so these symptoms will not disappear immediately after the hyperthyroidism is controlled, and some patients may even have more obvious protrusion of the eyeball. Therefore, thyroid function needs to be controlled and thyroid-related eye diseases also need to be treated simultaneously.

How is thyroid-related eye disease treated?

The main treatments for thyroid eye disease include systemic treatment and eye treatment. Systemic treatment mainly targets thyroid function and takes medication to correct thyroid function. Treatments for thyroid-related eye disease include symptomatic supportive treatment, medication, and surgery. Doctors will develop personalized treatment plans for patients based on their different conditions.

Kind tips

Director Ye Jianzhang called on patients who have been diagnosed with thyroid disease to go to professional ophthalmology hospitals for regular eye examinations. If you find that your eyeballs are protruding, you see double vision, your eyes are swollen and painful, your vision is declining, or there are obvious changes in your appearance, you must pay attention to it and seek regular treatment from an orbital doctor in time to avoid further deterioration of the disease.

How to prevent thyroid-related eye diseases? Director Ye Jianzhang said that we should maintain good living habits, avoid staying up late, use our eyes properly, eat a balanced diet, and pay attention to excessive intake of "iodine". Since the human body cannot synthesize iodine by itself, people can only get it from food. Once excessive intake occurs, the thyroid gland will "overwork" to synthesize excessive thyroid hormones, which may cause hyperthyroidism and lead to thyroid-related eye diseases.