6 ways your thyroid can affect your vision
Inflammation from an overactive or underactive thyroid can wreak havoc on the eyes. Here’s what to look out for.
Sunglasses on your morning walk? Check. Artificial tears for irritated eyes? Check. Less screen time, to let your eyes rest? Check.
Going down your checklist of eye-healthy habits is great, but to protect your eyes, it’s just as important to make sure other parts of your body are healthy, too.
Take the thyroid, for example. This butterfly-shaped gland is located in the lower front of your neck. It creates hormones that help your body use energy and help you to stay warm.1 It also helps keep your brain, heart, muscles and other organs working normally.1 But when the level of hormones the thyroid produces is off, you can experience side effects in your eyes.
“Different conditions can cause the thyroid to make too much thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism) or too little thyroid hormone (hypothyroidism),” says Viola Kanevsky, O.D., an optometrist and spokesperson for the American Optometric Association.
Some patients with Graves’ disease — an autoimmune disease that results in an overproduction of thyroid hormones — also develop thyroid eye disease (TED), she says. About 1 in 3 people with Graves’ disease develop eye symptoms, according to the American Thyroid Association.1
Here are some eye symptoms that could point to a potential thyroid issue.
Looking for a new eye care provider? Search the UnitedHealthcare Vision Network now.
Dry, gritty, red or irritated eyes
Getting sand in your eye is unlucky, but at least you can rinse it away. With TED, it can feel like a grain of sand is rubbing against your eye — and there’s no way to wash it out.
You may also experience tears, redness and dry eyes. That’s because an imbalance of thyroid hormones can lead to inflammation of the muscles and fat tissue around the eyes.2
Bulging eyes
This scary-looking symptom can happen when the thyroid isn’t working properly. Sometimes called proptosis, this is a main symptom of TED. Graves’ disease can trigger your immune system to attack the muscles and other tissues around the eyes. This causes swelling behind the eye sockets, which makes the eyes appear bulged.3
“You don’t look like you did before,” says Chantal Cousineau-Krieger, M.D., an ophthalmologist at the National Eye Institute. “You look like you’re always staring, and the eyes seem bulgy. A lot of patients are, of course, very upset by the change in the appearance of their eyes.”
The easiest way to stock up on contacts
Find dailies, monthlies, extended wear and more, from all the top brands.
Puffy eyelids
It’s not uncommon to wake up with bags under your eyes in the morning. Natural fluids can collect there and cause puffiness. This usually goes away once you’re out of bed, but in the case of TED, the entire area around the eye can swell up.
When the eyelid swells, it can cause the tissue around your eyes to bulge. This looks like bags around the eyes, and it can make you look older than you are.4
If you wake up with puffy eyelids, it may help to raise your head higher than your body while you sleep.3
Eyelids that pull back more than usual
This symptom is hard to miss. The whites of your eyes may be more visible than normal.
“Normally, you don’t see above or below the colored part of the eye (the iris), as a general rule,” says Dr. Cousineau-Krieger. “But with people with thyroid eye disease, you may see the whole white around the eye.”
This can expose your eyes to more air and may worsen dry eyes. It might even make it tough to close your eyes fully, says Dr. Cousineau-Krieger.
Eye pain or pressure
The inflammation from TED can put pressure on your eyes, making eye movement painful.
“In extreme cases, the swelling of the muscles and the tissues within the orbit (the bony structure that houses the eye) can press on the optic nerve (the part of the eye connected to the brain) and threaten your vision,”4 says Dr. Cousineau-Krieger.
Vision changes
While an imbalance in thyroid hormones can trigger changes in the tissue around your eyes, it can also lead to changes in your vision.
Some common thyroid-related vision symptoms include:
- Blurred vision
- Double vision (diplopia)
- Sensitivity to light
Double vision can happen when the muscles around the eyes aren’t working properly, says Dr. Cousineau-Krieger. If you have double vision as a symptom, your doctor may prescribe special eyeglasses to help get things back on track.4
How to find relief
The good news? TED symptoms are often mild and may go away on their own.3 If not, there are treatments to help with uncomfortable or painful symptoms, as well as the appearance of the eyes.3 Your eye doctor can help figure out the best treatment for you.
“The changes and symptoms associated with thyroid problems or diseases may resemble other eye problems,” Dr. Kanevsky says “so it’s important to contact a doctor of optometry for a comprehensive eye exam.”
Stay on top of your eye health with an in-network provider. Search for a provider now.
Sources:
- Thyroid eye disease American Thyroid Association. Accessed September 7, 2023.
- Thyroid eye disorders American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, last updated December 2021. Accessed September 7, 2023.
- Graves’ eye disease National Eye Institute, last updated October 2022. Accessed September 7, 2023.
- What is thyroid eye disease (TED) or Graves’ eye disease? American Academy of Ophthalmology, June 2023. Accessed September 7, 2023.
