About 30% of patients with hyperthyroidism may have eye disease Sudden "goldfish eye" rapid examination of the thyroid gland

Profile picture

Working overtime for a long time and staying up late, the 22-year-old girl Mingyue suffered from hyperthyroidism. In the process of treatment, Yueming found that her eyes gradually protruded forward, which not only affected her appearance, but also seriously affected her vision, and she was more and more prone to fatigue, photophobia, and tears... After going to the hospital for examination, the doctor said that he had a thyroid-related eye disease.

"Thyroid-related eye diseaseSyroid dysfunction is a disease that coexists with eye lesions." Zhao Jingru, an ophthalmologist at Dongzhimen Hospital of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, introduced that patients with hyperthyroidism have immune dysfunction, and there will be an inflammatory response to intraorbital muscles, fat and other tissues, resulting in tissue edema and thickening, resulting in increased intraorbital pressure, resulting in eye symptoms such as prosthesis. Zhao Jingru explained that the serious protrusion of the eyeball, intraorbital soft tissue edema, and increased orbital pressure may lead to conjunctival edema, hyperemia, eyelid inability to close, exposure keratitis, corneal ulcers and even perforation, and intraorbital edema, increased orbital pressure on the optic nerve, which may lead to optic neuropathy, seriously affecting the patient's vision and visual field. About 90% of patients with thyroid-associated eye disease have hyperthyroidism, and the rest may present with normal or hypothyroidism. About one-third of patients with hyperthyroidism may develop eye disease.

"Because the pathogenesis of the disease is not fully understood, some studies believe that the disease is an autoimmune or organ immune disease and is closely related to the functional state of the endocrine system throughout the body." Zhao Jingru said that the disease can be divided into systemic treatment and eye treatment in terms of treatment, systemic treatment should be carried out under the guidance of endocrinologists, and the purpose of eye treatment includes protecting visual function, controlling inflammation, and improving appearance.

Zhao Jingru said that glucocorticoids can be used to suppress the inflammatory response in the early stage of thyroid-related eye diseases; patients with corneal lesions caused by high herniation of the eyeball and incomplete eyelid closure need to use antibiotic eye drops or eye ointment in time, and if necessary, the eyelids can be cracked; patients with ineffective drug treatment or contraindications can be treated with radiation therapy, and some patients can undergo surgical treatment.

In terms of preventing the recurrence of thyroid-related eye diseases, Zhao Jingru suggests: strictly control thyroid function and maintain normal thyroid function; avoid eating spicy and irritating foods, quit smoking, prevent eye fatigue, wear sunglasses when exposed to strong light, avoid emotional agitation; keep your head high when sleeping, and apply eye ointment to those with incomplete palpebral fissures and closures.

Beijing News reporter Zhang Zhaohui

Proofreading Liu Baoqing