Dry or watery eyes. Gritty feeling in the eyes. Low tolerance of bright lights. Pain in or behind the eye — especially when looking up, down, or sideways.
History/Symptoms
The patient complains of gritty sensations, photophobia, lacrimation, dry eye, discomfort, and forward protrusion of the eye. In more advanced cases, patient may complain eye socket (orbital) pain, double vision, or blurred vision.
Eye problems, known as thyroid eye disease or Graves' ophthalmopathy, affect around 1 in 4 people with an overactive thyroid caused by Graves' disease. Problems can include: eyes feeling dry and gritty. sensitivity to light.
Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) isn't usually associated with eye disease. In severe cases, however, hypothyroidism may cause swelling around the eyes and a loss of the hairs in the outer part of the eyebrows.
Common eye symptoms in thyroid dysfunction
Swelling may cause blurry vision due to pressure applied to the optic nerve. Similarly, hypothyroidism may cause dry eyes. A study comparing people with Hashimoto's disease to people with a healthy thyroid found that those with Hashimoto's are more likely to have dry eyes.
Yes, dizziness is a symptom of a thyroid problem. Thyroid diseases³ or thyroid abnormalities sometimes manifest as dizziness. A high heart rate, shortness of breath, and lightheadedness are all possible symptoms of hyperthyroidism.
Symptoms usually last 1 to 2 years and often go away on their own. In rare cases, swelling around the eyes can press on the optic nerve (the nerve that connects the eye to the brain) and cause vision loss.
Radioactive iodine can worsen TED and is generally not recommended in individuals with moderate-to-severe or sight-threatening eye disease. In individuals with mild eye disease, radioactive iodine can be considered as initial treatment.
Treatments include medications to suppress the production of hormone by the thyroid gland, radioactive iodine to eliminate hormone-producing cells, and surgery to remove the thyroid tissue.
Thyroid diseases cause the gland to produce too much or too little of these hormones. These diseases cause a range of symptoms, some of which affect the eyes. Doctors refer to this as “thyroid eye disease” (TED). Dry eye is a condition in which the eyes do not make enough tears or the tears evaporate too quickly.
Because TAO can precede, coincide with or succeed the diagnosis of thyroid dysfunction, optometrists need to be capable of making an early diagnosis, as TAO can be vision-threatening, impact a patient's appearance and result in loss of quality of life.
Sensitive Skin and Skin Discoloration
Thyroid hormones also influence the quality of your skin in various ways. For example, with hyperthyroidism, you may notice itchy and dry patches of skin. Your face may feel softer and swollen. You may even notice swelling around your fingertips.
Diagnosis and Tests
If your healthcare provider thinks that you have thyroid eye disease, they'll order blood tests to check if your thyroid hormone levels and antibodies are too high or too low. Other tests your provider may request include: Ultrasound of the eyes. Computed tomography (CT).
Smoking is the biggest external factor known to make the disease worse and it is important for affected people to stop smoking immediately. deteriorating vision or worsening prominence – medications such as steroids or steroid-like medications (immunosuppressive treatment) are used to reduce the swelling.
One of the biggest risks of untreated thyroid eye disease is vision loss. The most common vision problems with Graves' orbitopathy include blurriness and double vision. Colors may also appear somewhat dull. In severe cases, thyroid eye disease may cause complete vision loss.
Living with TED can be both physically and emotionally challenging for people as their everyday lives are affected, from being unable to drive with double vision or sleeping with their eyes open. Some patients are unable to work due to visual changes or pain behind the eye.
Thyroid Eye Disease begins with the acute phase, when symptoms appear suddenly and usually worsen quickly. Redness and swelling (inflammation) and scarring start to form during this phase and can damage your eyes and cause a number of other changes.
People with hypothyroidism may also have headaches, including pulsing pain, on both sides of the head. In most cases, the headaches subside after the person receives effective treatment for hypothyroidism.
Endocrine diseases that cause dizziness
Hypothyroidism (too little thyroid hormone) may cause low blood pressure and a decreased heart rate leading to lightheadedness, weakness, lethargy, and chills.
Yes, thyroid disease can affect mood. Common thyroid disease symptoms that affect mood include anxiety or depression. In general, the more severe the thyroid disease, the more severe the mood changes.
A swollen fingertip, curved nail, and thickening skin above a nail are often signs of thyroid disease.
Age. Graves' disease usually develops in people before age 40. Other autoimmune disorders. People with other disorders of the immune system, such as type 1 diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis, have an increased risk.
One of the rarer side effects of Synthroid is that it may cause blurred or double vision and eye pain. These symptoms may stem from swelling caused by taking too much thyroid hormone or an adverse reaction to the medication, like an allergic reaction.
If you have Graves' disease, eye symptoms most often begin within six months of disease diagnosis. Very rarely, eye problems may develop long after the Graves' disease has been treated. In some patients with eye symptoms, hyperthyroidism never develops and, rarely, patients may have hypothyroidism.