Thyroid Eye Disease

"This is a disorder where the fat and muscles behind and around the eyes become swollen. There is still much that we do not know about it. However it seems to occur only in people who have a certain type of thyroid problem called an auto-immune disorder. Most commonly, it happens in people with an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroid); a condition called Graves' disease . To begin with either one eye or both have only a 'stary' appearance. They may water and be sensitive to light and especially wind. They may feel sticky in the mornings and gritty during the day. In more severe cases the lids may not close properly. If the muscles which make the eyes move also get inflamed and swollen, the eyes are pushed forward and you may get double vision. This may only be on looking in one direction, but it can worsen so that double vision is there all the time. If the eyes protrude a lot, the white of the eye becomes red (like conjunctivitis). If they protrude even further, vision can be affected. This happens either because the front of the eye (the cornea) becomes more exposed and therefore drier, or because the optic nerve which carries the images back to the brain is stretched."