Prevent Blindness Declares Fifth Annual Thyroid Eye Disease Awareness Week as Nov. 18-24, 2024

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Prevent Blindness

Nov 13, 2024, 09:45 ET


Prevent Blindness provides free educational materials on Thyroid Eye Disease, including a new patient-featured episode of the Focus on Eye Health Expert series, fact sheets, social media graphics and dedicated webpages.

CHICAGO, Nov. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- , the nation's leading nonprofit eye health and safety organization, has declared Nov. 18-24, 2024, as its fifth annual "Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) Awareness Week." TED, also known as Graves' Eye Disease or Graves' ophthalmopathy, is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system causes inflammation and swelling and stimulates the production of muscle tissue and fat behind the eye. This year's TED Awareness Week is supported by , , , and .

Symptoms of TED include:

  •     Bulging eyes (proptosis)
  •     Dry, gritty and irritated eyes
  •     Red eyes
  •     Puffy eyelids
  •     Sensitivity to light
  •     Watery eyes

In more advanced cases of TED, patients may also experience:

  •     Trouble moving eyes and fully closing eyelids
  •     Corneal ulcers caused by an inability to completely close eyelids
  •     Colors that appear to be dull or not as bright
  •     Blurred or loss of vision due to optic nerve compression or corneal damage

A found that patients with TED are more likely to develop depression and anxiety. They may also feel reduced self-confidence, a decreased desire to socialize with others, and difficulties with productivity at school or work. Prevent Blindness offers TED patients and others the resource from its Living Well With Low Vision program. The dedicated webpage offers tips to support mental health and links to mental health organizations.

To help educate patients, care partners, and healthcare professionals, Prevent Blindness provides a variety of free TED educational resources, including comprehensive and , available in English and Spanish, and a dedicated . As part of its Focus on Eye Health Expert Series, Prevent Blindness also offers episodes:

  •  "," featuring Christine Gustafson, Executive Director and CEO of the  and  graduate, discussing her TED journey, her work to establish her non-profit group, and the resources it provides.
  •     "," featuring neuro-ophthalmic conditions expert Prem Subramanian, MD, PhD, Clifford R. and Janice N. Merrill Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology and Vice Chair for Academic Affairs at Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center, UCHealth, discusses TED, its potential impact on mental health, and the importance of patient and healthcare provider communication to help improve health outcomes.
  •     "," with Sara Wester, MD, FACS, professor of clinical ophthalmology at , and TED patient Stephen Bander.

"We are in an exciting time of offering hope and help to those with thyroid eye disease and their care partners, thanks to access to new treatment options and the development of new medications on the horizon," said Jeff Todd, Prevent Blindness president and CEO. "Because TED often impacts vision and mental health, our goal is to provide the public, patients, and care partners with information needed to understand and mitigate the effects of TED and help patients enjoy a high quality of life for years to come."

For more information on TED, please visit . For more information on low vision and resources, visit Living Well with Low Vision, .

About Prevent Blindness
Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness touches the lives of millions of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, certified vision screening and training, community and patient service programs and research. These services are made possible through the generous support of the American public. Together with a network of affiliates, Prevent Blindness is committed to eliminating preventable blindness in America. For more information, visit us at PreventBlindness.org, and follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Media Contact

Sarah Hecker, Prevent Blindness, 312.363.6034, [email protected], PreventBlindness.org

SOURCE Prevent Blindness; Prevent Blindness