How can thyroid affect my eyes?

The most common way TED (Thyroid eye disease) affects the eyes is by causing symptoms of watering, grittiness, and soreness. You may also find that bright lights are uncomfortable.

TED can also cause some changes to the appearance of your eyes, and in some cases, to your vision:

  • Your eyelids can become puffy and red (lid swelling), which is often more obvious in the morning
  • Your upper eyelid can rise to a higher position than normal. This is known as eyelid retraction. This can make more of the white of your eye visible, giving a 'staring' appearance
  • The muscles and fat (soft tissues) behind your eyeball can swell, pushing your eyes forward so that they 'bulge' (called 'exophthalmos', or 'proptosis')
  • Both eyelid retraction and exophthalmos can make your dry eye symptoms worse. This is because more of your eye’s surface is exposed. Also, because these changes can mean that your eyelids are unable to blink or close fully.
  • If the muscles that move the eyeball can become swollen, this can mean your eyes are unable to move together and equally. This causes double vision (diplopia). You may only have double vision when looking in one direction or you may have double vision all the time, whatever direction you are looking.
  • Your orbits (eye sockets) may become painful, particularly when your eyes move

Most people only get a mild form of TED, although the symptoms can be difficult to cope with. You may have dry eye which can usually be managed well with lubricating eye drops. You may have some eyelid retraction or bulging eyes and any double vision you have may come and go.

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