Eye Diseases Treatment Service

There are many different names you might find for the autoimmune eye condition that is often seen with thyroid disease, including:

• Thyroid Eye Disease, sometimes abbreviated as TED
• Graves’ Opthamolopathy
• Thyroid-associated orbitopathy (TAO)
• Grave’s orbitopathy

Thyroid Eye Disease is an autoimmune eye condition that, while separate from thyroid disease, is often seen in conjunction with Graves’ Disease. The condition, however, is seen in people with no other evidence of thyroid dysfunction, and occasionally in patients who have Hashimoto’s Disease. Most thyroid patients, however, will not develop thyroid eye disease, and if so, only mildly so.

Signs and Symptoms of Thyroid Eye Disease

• Pain in the eyes, pain when looking up, down or sideways
• Dryness, itching, dry eyes, difficulty wearing contact lenses
• Inflammation and swelling of the eye, and its surrounding tissues
• Swelling in the orbital tissues which causes the eye to be pushed forward — referred to as exophthalmos — which can make Thyroid Eye Disease sufferers appear to have a wide-eyed or bulging stare.