Periorbital Cellulitis and Thyroid Disease

There are a number of medical problems that can affect your eyelids and eyes. Periorbital cellulitis causes the eyelids to swell. Another condition, thyroid orbitopathy, is a disease affecting the thyroid gland that causes the eye to protrude. While both conditions are usually harmless, the symptoms of thyroid orbitopathy may refuse to go away without treatment.

Periorbital Cellulitis

• The eyelids swell due to an acute infection when suffering from periorbital cellulitis. The swelling may be red and puffy and the area may feel hot and irritated. Cellulitis occurs when bacteria on the surface of the skin penetrate into the skin. It can be caused by another infection, such as sinusitis, or it can be the result of trauma to the eye area. While periorbital cellulitis does not cause the eyeball itself to bulge or protrude, it may cause orbitial cellulitis if left untreated, which does cause the eyeball to bulge or protrude. Periorbital cellulitis is common in children under the age of 6.

Thyroid Gland

• The thyroid gland is found at the front of the throat, just below the larynx. It produces the thyroid hormone, which controls the metabolism. This means that the thyroid hormone helps to regulate the growth of the tissues in the body, the use of energy in the body and the use of vitamins and other hormones. For this reason, an overproducing or underproducing thyroid gland can cause a number of problems. One of these is thyroid orbitopathy.

Thyroid Orbitopathy

• Thyroid orbitopathy can be caused by too little or too much thyroid hormone. This causes the immune system to produce hormones that cause the muscles that move the eye to swell and grow. The eye begins to bulge and protrude from the eyelids. If the muscles swell too much, they can press against the optical nerve, causing loss of vision. Thyroid orbitopathy can also cause the eye to feel irritated and gritty and can make the vision blurred and cause double vision.

Treatment

• Because periorbital cellulitis is caused by a bacterial infection, it is usually treated by taking oral antibiotics. If treated, periorbital cellulitis does not usually lead to complications and the symptoms should pass. The symptoms of thyroid orbitopathy may not pass when the problems with the thyroid gland have been dealt with. Thyroid disease is usually treated by medications such as thyroid extract to increase the level of thyroid hormone in the body or blockers such as methimazole to reduce levels. However, the swollen muscles may not shrink. If this happens, treatment is undergone to lower the appearance of bulging eyes. These treatments focus on helping the eyelids to close, such as taping them shut overnight, or surgery to make the lids large enough to close over the bulging eyeballs. In extreme cases, steroids may be needed to force the eye muscles to shrink.

Considerations

• It is important to contact your doctor immediately as soon as you notice any symptoms of periorbital cellulitis or thyroid orbitopathy. If the eye begins to bulge while you are suffering from periorbital cellulitis, you should talk to your doctor, as this may be the onset of orbital cellulitis but may also be symptomatic of more serious thyroid disease.