Some Causes and Features of Bulging Eyes
Some Causes and Features of Bulging Eyes
Cause | Common Features* | Tests |
|---|---|---|
Eye symptoms: Pain, watering, dryness, irritation, sensitivity to light, double vision, and loss of vision Usually affecting both eyes General symptoms: Palpitations, anxiety, increased appetite, weight loss, diarrhea, inability to tolerate heat, increased sweating, and insomnia | Blood tests to evaluate thyroid gland function Sometimes, CT or MRI of the orbits | |
Orbital cellulitis Orbital Cellulitis Orbital cellulitis is infection affecting the tissue within the orbit and around and behind the eye. Infection can spread to the orbit from sources such as the sinuses around the nose. Symptoms... read more | Affecting only one eye Eye redness, pain deep within the eye, pain when moving the eye, and aches in and around the eye Red and swollen eyelids Inability to fully move the eye in all directions Impaired vision or loss of vision Fever Sometimes preceded by symptoms of sinusitis | CT or MRI of the brain and orbit |
A mass in the eye socket such as a tumor Tumors of the Orbit Rarely, tumors, either cancerous (malignant) or noncancerous (benign), occur in the tissues behind the eye. (See also Introduction to Eye Socket Disorders.) Tumors can form within the tissues... read more | Loss of or a decrease in vision and pain in one eye Sometimes double vision or headache | MRI or CT of the orbit |
Retrobulbar hemorrhage (bleeding in the eye socket) | Usually affecting only one eye Symptoms that begin suddenly Loss of vision, double vision, and eye pain In people who have recently had eye surgery or an eye injury or who have a bleeding disorder | CT of the orbit or treatment done immediately |
* Features include symptoms and the results of the doctor's examination. Features mentioned are typical but not always present. | ||
CT = computed tomography; MRI = magnetic resonance imaging. | ||
