What is (are) Graves' Disease ?
Graves ophthalmopathy is a condition associated with Graves disease that occurs when cells from the immune system attack the muscles and other tissues around the eyes.
                
The result is inflammation and a buildup of tissue and fat behind the eye socket, causing the eyeballs to bulge out. Rarely, inflammation is severe enough to compress the optic nerve that leads to the eye, causing vision loss.
                
Other GO symptoms are
                
- dry, gritty, and irritated eyes  - puffy eyelids  - double vision  - light sensitivity  - pressure or pain in the eyes  - trouble moving the eyes
                
About 25 to 30 percent of people with Graves disease develop mild GO, and 2 to 5 percent develop severe GO.1 This eye condition usually lasts 1 to 2 years and often improves on its own.
                
GO can occur before, at the same time as, or after other symptoms of hyperthyroidism develop and may even occur in people whose thyroid function is normal. Smoking makes GO worse.
                
1Yeung SJ, Habra MA, Chiu AC. Graves disease. emedicine website. emedicine.medscape.com/article/120619-overview. Updated 2010. Accessed December 10, 2011.