Contact Lenses and Hashimoto’s Disease: Challenges and Solutions

Introduction

Contact lenses are vital in helping patients navigate hashimoto’s disease. Think of them as a warm shield you can hide your head on a very hot day. They preserve the moisture level in the eyes of dry eye patients. Additionally, they could offer soothing relief for discomforts such persons feel.

You need to understand what hashimoto’s disease is about. Also, learn about its impact and treatment mechanisms. This will help you understand the relationship between contact lenses and hashimoto’s disease.

Understanding Hashimoto’s Disease and Thyroid Eye Disease

Hashinomoto’s disease and thyroid eye disease are two different immune conditions. They affect the thyroid gland and the eye muscles respectively.

Sometimes, people mistake these immune disorders for each other. But they’re entirely different conditions. The primary similarity between them is that they are immune conditions.

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis can be likened to two siblings fighting each other; how else do you explain the immune system fighting your thyroid? In technical terms, it is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the immune system attacks the thyroid gland. Patients with hashimoto thyroiditis often develop hypothyroidism – a condition where the thyroid glands secrete low levels of thyroid hormones. This is quite dangerous because the thyroid gland should regulate metabolism. It also regulates energy and body health.

This could be quite dangerous because such a condition is setting up the thyroid for failure.

When left untreated, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis results in other diseases. Some of those diseases include goiter, heart problems, myxedema, and other diseases. Think of it like a small rip in your dress. If left unrepaired, it will get larger and the dress could become too damaged for repair

Thyroid eye disease (or Graves orbitopathy) is an autoimmune disorder that occurs when the immune system of a patient attacks the muscles and tissues behind the eye. Hence, resulting in inflammation of the tissue.

The Connection Between Hashimoto’s Disease and Dry Eyes

Dry eyes are common side effects of Hashimoto’s disease. It occurs when the eyes don’t produce enough tears to keep the eyes lubricated. These Tears are responsible for preventing infections. They also suppress inflammation and heal traumatic and surgical injuries. Additionally, tears play antimicrobial defense roles and help you maintain high-quality vision. Some common dry eye symptoms a discomfort, extreme light sensitivity, redness, or eye disease.

Patients having Hashimoto’s thyroiditis often experience dry eyes. This is due to ineffective thyroid function. Such inefficiency causes the thyroid to produce less hormones than required. As a result, the tear glands might not function optimally. Hence, leading to dry eye syndrome.

Managing Hashimoto’s Disease and Thyroid Eye Disease with Contact Lenses

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and thyroid eye disease don’t primarily target the eye. Unfortunately, dry eye is a common symptom of both diseases.

Using appropriate contact lenses can help you manage Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and thyroid eye disease. But the first step is to know your eye health and how symptoms affect your well-being. During these visits, your eye doctor will tell you how to avoid dry eye and seeing double. They will also recommend the best contacts for your condition.

The type of lens that fits you is dependent on the severity of your thyroid disease. You may be able to use either scleral, soft, or silicone hydrogel lenses. But ensure you follow the recommendations of your eye care specialist.

How to Treat Thyroid Eye Disease (Graves ophthalmopathy)

If you develop thyroid eye disease, you do not need to fret. You can treat thyroid eye disease using different methods. Some of them are home remedies. For others, you need to consult a healthcare provider. They will give you a diagnosis and specialized treatment.

In this segment, we will show you 5 common ways that can treat thyroid eye disease.

• Use Eye Drops This is one of the most common treatments for graves disease. While some are available over the counter, others are only by prescription. There are several types of eye drops. The common ones are artificial tears and lubricating gels. Before applying any of these, patients with thyroid should consult a doctor.
• Apply Cool Compresses Cool compresses are home remedies that can offer quick relief to thyroid eye disease. The cool temperature from the compresses decreases blood flow to the irritated areas of your eye. Hence, reducing swelling. You can make your compresses easier by getting a reusable eye mask. Put the mask in your fridge or freezer so that it can cool down before you use it.
• Avoid Dry Environment Patients with thyroid disorders often have severe cases of eye irritation. This saddles you with the responsibility of employing intentional eye protection mechanisms.Exposing an eye with thyroid conditions to dry environments will worsen the condition. It will also make you very uncomfortable. As such, you should avoid dry environments at all costs. If you need to be outside on a windy day, ensure your eyes are protected with sunglasses that protect all sides of your eyes. When your friends ask you about the shades, tell them you are upgrading your style
• Tape Shut Your Eyes At Night Protruding eyes caused by thyroid disease make it difficult to shut the eyes at night. Leaving the eyelid half closed on such nights might be dangerous. It leaves the eye unprotected and could cause more irritation.In such situations, tape shutting your eyes is the best way to keep them protected overnight. If you will be employing this method, you should note that you can’t use just any tape to tape Shut your eyes. There are special medical tapes that are strong enough to hold the eye shut. They effortlessly shut the eye without hurting the delicate eye muscles.
• Eye Muscle Surgery Your healthcare provider may recommend surgery for thyroid eye disease. This should not make you scared, think about the flowers that will surround your bed – if that makes you feel better.Eye muscle surgery is a reconstructive surgery involving the movement of the eye muscles. This procedure is usually done in a bid to correct double vision. Depending on the severity of the condition, you may need more than one surgery.
• Orbital Decompression Surgery When thinking about orbital decompression surgery, picture an overstuffed room that needs to be decluttered so you can shut the door. Orbital decompression surgery is a procedure whereby the eye doctor will remove excess tissue from the eye socket. This will help reduce the pressure on the optic nerve. This makes the eye sockets larger and reduces the bulging of the eyes. Most times, orbital decompression surgery precedes other surgeries.
• Eyelid Surgery Healthcare providers sometimes treat thyroid eye disease with eyelid surgery. Eye doctors use this technique when patients have tight eyelids. A tight eyelid is when the top eyelids can’t come down while the lower eyelids can’t move up. Not treating tight eyelids early exposes, patients to the risk of corneal damage.

Graves’ Disease and Thyroid Disease: What’s the Difference?

Most times, graves disease is mistaken for thyroid eye disease ted.

Graves disease is an autoimmune condition that affects the thyroid glands. It occurs when the thyroid hormone levels increase because of an immune disorder. The disorder occurs when the immune system attacks the thyroid glands. This oversecretion of thyroid hormones is known as hyperthyroidism.

Common symptoms of excess thyroid hormones include weight loss and rapid heartbeat. Heat intolerance and tremors are also symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Graves disease sometimes causes an enlarged thyroid gland which is called goiter.

Thyroid eye disease TED is an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation of the tissues in the eye muscles. A patient who has thyroid eye disease often experiences different symptoms. These symptoms include eye discomfort and dryness. They might also experience eye protrusion, irritation, and vision problems.

Serious complications could arise when thyroid eye disease is not treated early. Some of such complications include optic nerve compression and corneal exposure. If it is not dealt with early, it could even lead to vision loss.

Lifestyle Changes to Help Manage Hashimoto’s Disease

Managing Hashimoto’s thyroiditis will demand a lot of lifestyle changes. Some of the changes may be difficult to make. But you should remind yourself that they are vital to your recuperation and well-being.

Some of the lifestyle changes you might need to incorporate include:

• Stress management
• Regular exercises
• Balanced diet that is rich in vegetables, protein, vitamins, healthy fats, and fruits.
• At least 7 hours daily sleep
• Healthy weight management
• Lots of water
• Regular health checkups
• Prescribed supplements

Medical Treatments for Hashimoto’s Disease

Medical practitioners have different types of treatment for Hashimoto thyroiditis. Yet, patients cannot choose any treatment at face value. The doctors need to first examine the patient. Afterward, they will assess how much damage hashimoto thyroiditis has done. The assessment will guide them in choosing a suitable treatment type. Some of these tests include:

• Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)TSH test is a test to examine how much TSH you have in your body. When the body is low on thyroid hormones, the pituitary gland sends out TSH. TSH notifies the thyroid to produce more hormones. Having a high level of TSH receptor antibodies in your blood might mean you have hypothyroidism.
• Thyroxin (T-4) TestT-4 is the main thyroid hormone in the human body. Most times, this test is performed after TSH has been carried out. If your body has little T-4, this might be a confirmation that your thyroid has a challenge.
• Antibody TestWhen you hear about fire outbreaks and accidents, you have several possible causes in your mind, right?Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is not the only cause of hypothyroidism. Your healthcare provider will need to conduct an antibody test. This will help confirm the cause of the hypothyroidism.

After the tests, your healthcare provider will give an accurate diagnosis. The diagnosis will state the mildness or seriousness of the hypothyroidism. Your healthcare provider may not prescribe any medication if it’s a mild case. Rather, they will watch your symptoms and thyroid hormone levels.

You will be administered Levothyroxine if the tests reveal that you have hypothyroidism or severe cases of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

Levothyroxine is a synthetic version of T-4. Your dose is dependent on several factors. The doctors consider your age, weight, and the severity of the hypothyroidism. They would also factor other underlying health disease before setting your dose.

How to Treat Dry Eyes Associated with Hashimoto’s Disease

Treating the thyroid disorder doesn’t automatically cure the accompanying dry eyes symptoms. As a result, you need extra treatment to manage dry eye and associated symptoms. In such dry eye cases, doctors recommend a multi-step approach. Some of the common options include:

• Adding moisture to the air in your environment by using an indoor humidifier.
• Using an air filter to remove eye irritants from the air.
• Using eye drops and eye ointments
• Avoiding dry environments and using sunglasses when you need to be outside
• Using cool compresses when your eyes feel dry
• Taking oral steroids prescribed by your healthcare provider.

FAQ:

Can people with thyroid eye disease wear contacts?

Absolutely! People with thyroid eye disease can wear contact lenses on the ocular surface. But it’s important to consult an eye specialist before you proceed. An eye specialist is better equipped to give a specialized prescription and personalized recommendations. They might prescribe specialized contact lenses like scleral lens. It’ll help soothe the discomfort you may feel.

Does Hashimoto’s affect your eyes?

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is a disease that attacks the thyroid glands. Unfortunately, the malfunction of the thyroid leads to other health challenges. One of such is thyroid eye disease and dry eyes.

The best lenses for people with Hashimoto’s disease?

Hashimoto’s thyroid diseases are not an excuse not to wear contacts. There are contacts for different severity of the disease. The best lenses eye practitioners prescribe for people with hashimoto’s disease are:

• Scleral lensA scleral lens is often recommended for patients with severe eye dryness. The lens is also used by patients with irregular cornea. The scleral lens has a large diameter that vaults over the cornea. This enables them to hold a fluid-filled reservoir. This fluid-filled reservoir helps prevent the eyes from drying out.
• Soft contact lensPatients with mild or moderate eye dryness are usually advised to use Soft contact lens. This contacts lens does not have as much oxygen permeability as hydrogel lenses.
• Hydrogel lensesEvery dry eye patient knows how much discomfort they always need to endure. Every opportunity for such patients to keep tears at normal level is a priceless delight.
• Hydrogel lenses are better moisture-retaining contacts than conventional contact lenses. By implication, they don’t allow tears evaporate. This enables them to protect patients from eye dryness better than regular contacts.

If you have dry eye caused by hashimoto’s thyroid disease, you should always put a call or message through to your eye doctor. Never make the decision before you consult with your eye doctor about using contact lenses.

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The best solution for people with hypothyroidism is daily silicone-hydrogel lenses, characterized by high oxygen permeability, greater hydration, and less interference with the tear film, e.g. Dailies Total 1 lenses made of Delefilcon A.