How Graves Disease Could Be Affecting Your Eyes
- Posted on: Nov 15 2016
Graves disease is a disease that affects your thyroid gland, the butterfly shaped gland that resides in your throat. As the leading cause of hyperthyroidism, a disease that causes your thyroid to produce extra hormones, Graves disease is a disorder that once diagnosed can easily be treated by your doctor. But what is Graves disease exactly and how does it affect your eyes? Read on to learn more.
More About Graves Disease
In order to understand more about Graves disease, it’s important to understand the thyroid gland and a condition called hyperthyroidism. Typically, hormones produced by the thyroid gland help to control your metabolism. Normally, the thyroid is instructed to produce these hormones through a chemical called TSH. However, in Graves’ disease, the body produces abnormal antibodies that mimic the chemical TSH which causes the thyroid to work harder than usual.
How Does It Affect Your Eyes
Once your body starts to work overtime and produce more and more hormones caused by the thyroid, you will start to exhibit symptoms such as eyes that bulge out a bit through a condition called exophthalmos. Additionally, patients who have Graves’ disease also suffer from eye problems such as itchiness, dryness, overall irritation, inflammation, and it can even cause some patients to get impaired vision or lose vision completely.
Treatment for Graves Disease
If you suffer from Graves’ Disease and are exhibiting symptoms related to your overall eye health, then Dr. Daniel Tresley can help you get your vision back on track. Varying from case to case, Dr. Tresley utilizes his expertise in order to help restore your eyes to their normal resting position. Depending on the severity of your condition, Dr. Daniel Tresley may even need to use an orbital decompression surgery, a surgery which enlarges the bony orbital vault that the eye rests in to allow the eye to fall back into a more normal position.
If you suffer from Graves’ disease and your eyes are starting to exhibit abnormal and irritating symptoms, don’t suffer a minute longer. With the help of Dr. Daniel Tresley you can get your vision back to normal in no time. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, contact Dr. Tresley’s office today!
Posted in: Graves Disease
