Ten top tips for thyroid eye disease (TED) relief

We asked members of the TEDct support group if they could share some of their tips for getting relief from the day to day ravages of TED.

1. Sunglasses or transitional lenses really help with my light sensitivity and confidence.

2. Wearing a hat not only helps my sensitivity to light, but it also disguises my TED symptoms.

3. Cold gel masks or a cold wet cloth or towel on your eyes can really relieve pain and swelling.

4. I raised my pillows to help with puffiness in mornings on waking. Keep your head higher than your heart. I have heard some people put blocks under the head board to raise the bed at the head end.

5. Lubricating eye drops are a game-changer. They stop that horrible gritty feeling and reduce the watering you get with dry eyes…a really uncomfortable symptom of TED.

6. I used to get painful corneal abrasion from when my eyes popped open at night and dried out, now I use a silk sleep mask and it prevents the abrasion and reduces chemosis (eye irritation).

7. Definitely stop smoking as this makes your TED worse. Also avoid second hand smoke and bonfires as smoke is a real irritant and always flares up my TED.

8. My eyes don’t close at night so I put Vaseline around my eye socket and then place a square of clingfilm over them to keep them from drying out.

9. Turning the brightness down on my phone and computer screens has really helped me at work.

10. I find a warm eye mask can ease my symptoms.

How do you relieve your TED symptoms? Please share your tips below to help other TED warriors.

For more thyroid eye disease news you can sign up to the TEDct newsletter or join Thyroid Eye Disease Support UK.

Feedback

One comment on “Ten top tips for thyroid eye disease (TED) relief

  1. I use hylo night eye ointment for dry eyes, along with refresh eye drops during the day. Wearing sunglasses and a hat to cut down on the glare. I also turn down the brightness on my devices.

Leave a Reply

Required fields are marked *