Causes, signs, treatment of exophthalmos in humans
Exophthalmos (or bulging) is a pathological partial displacement of one or both eyes from the sockets to the outside. Usually, the disease signals about some diseases of other organs and systems (for example, it can be ostracism in the case of a thyroid gland disease or the occurrence of a tumor process in the eye socket).
In exophthalmos, the eyeball moves forward, but it can also move slightly to the side. The size of the eyeball remains the same.
Most often, exophthalmos is observed in such diseases and pathological conditions as:
- Based's disease (or diffuse toxic goiter) - this is the name of a nodular lesion of the thyroid gland;
- orbital tumors;
- brain tumors (including metastatic);
- traumatic damage to the eyeball with hemorrhage into the eyeball (one of the most common causes of unilateral exophthalmos);
- traumatic fracture of the base (lower part) of the skull;
- thrombosis (clogging with a blood clot) of brain vessels;
- aneurysm of cerebral vessels (single or multiple sac-like protrusion of the vascular wall);
- inflammatory damage to the bone and soft tissues of the eyeball;
- inflammatory lesion of paranasal sinuses (frontal, maxillary, ethmoidal sinuses);
- varicose dilatation of the veins of the eye;
- trichinellosis (when trichinella migrate into the soft tissues of the eyeball).
Unilateral exophthalmos in a child or adult indicates that changes in the tissues surrounding the eyeball have occurred quickly.
How is exophthalmos detected
The signs of bulging in children and adults are not only in the forward displacement of the eyeball. It is also:
- impairment of the mobility of the eyeballs due to pathological changes in the oculomotor muscles. At the same time, strabismus and diplopia develop;
- keratopathy – a dystrophic lesion of the cornea, which is characterized by its gradual progressive destruction, and later by the addition of an inflammatory process. Keratopathy develops due to the fact that when the eye is bulging, the eyelids do not close, and therefore do not protect the cornea from dust and wind, its hydration becomes insufficient;
- signs of compression of the optic nerve.
Compression of the optic nerve is the most unfavorable condition that can accompany exophthalmos. Thanks to the impulses passing through the optic nerve, the image of what is seen is "displayed" in the brain. With strong compression:
- the optic nerve dies very quickly;
- complete blindness occurs.
Therefore, the appearance of bulging (especially if there are pronounced symptoms of edematous exophthalmos - bulging that developed as a result of tissue swelling) should cause concern about damage to the optic nerve.
In itself, the bulging of the eyeball can be expressed to a different extent - from practically imperceptible (determined using special diagnostic methods) to pronounced, when when looking at the face with a blink of an eye, the bulging eyeball (or both) immediately draws attention to self attention Also, exophthalmos can go unnoticed if a person has a deep location of the eyeballs as a variant of the norm.
In the presence of exophthalmos, changes in other organs and systems should be taken into account for a full diagnosis of the disease. Thus, the detection of tachycardia, exophthalmos and tremors (shaking) signals that endocrinological disorders are possible, namely thyrotoxicosis (increased production of thyroid hormones).
Diagnosis of exophthalmos in thyrotoxicosis and other diseases
It is important not only to record the fact of ostracism, but also to establish its degree. To do this, exophthalmometry is performed - with the help of special ophthalmic mirrors, the location of the eyeballs and the degree of their displacement are assessed. Diagnosis of exophthalmos in thyrotoxicosis or other diseases does not differ significantly.
With pronounced exophthalmos, the cornea is examined - it is evaluated:
- surface (flat or not);
- presence of visible damage;
- moisture degree.
In order to clarify the changes in the eyeball that could lead to exophthalmos, its research is used using such methods as:
- computed tomography;
- magnetic resonance imaging.
The most common cause of gout is endocrine disorders - in particular, from the thyroid gland. Therefore, with exophthalmos, laboratory determination of thyroid hormones is mandatory.
Treatment of exophthalmos
Treatment of exophthalmos in humans consists in the treatment of pathological symptoms that caused it:
- antibiotics and anti-inflammatory agents are prescribed for inflammatory lesions of the eyeball. In case of pus formation, it is removed surgically;
- for inflammatory lesions of the paranasal sinuses, the indications are the same as for inflammation of the soft and hard tissues of the eyeball;
- for oncological processes, the method of treatment depends on the type of tumor. Practice surgical treatment, chemotherapy, radiation therapy or a combination of these methods;
- with thrombosis of cerebral vessels, anticoagulants and fibrinolytics (agents that dissolve blood clots) are prescribed;
- with endocrine disorders, hormones are corrected. Before treating endocrine exophthalmos, it is carefully checked whether there is another cause of exophthalmos (for example, a tumor).
If exophthalmos is accompanied by corneal disorders, practice:
- use of regenerating (those that promote healing) ointments and gels;
- temporary bonding of the eyelids until the cornea recovers.
If exophthalmos is accompanied by severe compression of the optic nerve, surgical removal of fatty tissue of the eyeball is performed in parallel with the treatment of the underlying disease in order to reduce pressure on the nerve.
You can learn more about the treatment of exophthalmos on our website https://dobrobut.com/. But remember that this information is for reference - only a highly qualified specialist can prescribe treatment (for example, drops for pulsating exophthalmos).
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