What Is Hyperthyroidism?
3. Graves’ Disease
Autoimmune diseases are medical conditions where the patient’s bodily tissues are being attacked by their immune system. Graves’ disease is an autoimmune condition that attacks the thyroid gland specifically. It results in the patient’s thyroid gland producing more thyroxine than usual, among other symptoms.
In addition to causing the symptoms of hypothyroidism, Graves’ disease can also cause Graves’ ophthalmopathy. This is a condition where the patient’s eyes are affected, and this can mean dry eyes, excessive tearing, discomfort, vision problems, and protruding eyeballs. It is most likely to affect smokers, and the eye problems will usually clear up with no treatment.
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