Bulging Eyes: Treatment, Procedure, Cost and Side Effects

Bulging eye condition is also known as Proptosis, hyperthyroidism, exophthalmos and keratoconus. Bulging eyes can be characterised by the popping out of the eye from its socket to the extent where the eyelids go unnoticeable. It can be caused by variations in the anatomy or due to thyroid levels in the body. Sometimes, the cause for the same remains unknown and sudden bulging of the eyes, hence, needs to be treated immediately.

One of the most common causes of the same can be the grave symptom which implies that thyroid levels, in addition to foreign factors cause the eye to bulge. Blinking becomes to a minimum and it seems to the onlooker that the patient is in a continuous state of staring. Unilateral protrusion of the eyeballs can results from trauma, inflammation, malformations in blood supply to the orbit, orbital tumors and cancer. The pressure inside the eye may increase with the eyes bulging and the high intraocular pressure increases the risk for developing glaucoma. The eyelids fail to close completely during normal blinking or sleeping, causing the cornea to dry out. This dryness can cause scarring along with a nagging discomfort which could eventually lead to permanent vision loss.

Severe condition of gouging eyeballs, the movement of the eyeballs gets badly affected making the individual stare at one position. A white presence can be felt in the affected area and also acts as an indication of eye bulging.

The only way to treat bulging eyes is by the help of a professional. There is no self treatment for this condition.

The surgical way to treat bulging eyes is used when the eye is diagnosed of cancer. The affected part of the eye would have to be removed. In severe cases, the entire eyes has to be removed depending upon how badly it has been affected. At times, brachytherapy may be used to place a radioactive disc for internal radiation therapy. This is the only way to stop cancer from spreading from the eye to the rest of the body, and heals the eye completely.

The amount of fatty tissues can also be cut to help the eyes gain back their form. This prevents bulging and helps to effectively heal the eyes. Other surgical options for prominent eyes include orbital decompression surgery or orbital rim onlay grafting which includes expanding the eye sockets by breaking the orbit walls. This helps the eye to gain more space for it to move about.

Nonsurgical methods of treatment include injecting facial fillers like restylane around the eye socket to build up a bony socket or orbital rim. Eye gel or artificial tears can also be applied in order to heal this condition. An eye patch can also be worn by the patient at night, to keep the eyes moist at all times.

Bulging eyes have a variety of side effects. It can cause swelling of the eyes, redness, itching, excessive fluids, watery eyes, fibrosis, scarring of the eye and can increase thyroid levels of the body in severe cases.

Bulging eyes can also cause orbital cancer and tumors.

Thankfully, there are no side effects to the treatment of bulging eyes, as surgically or nonsurgically, the eyes are carefully.

The affected eyes can take upto a week or more to completely heal in cases of surgical or nonsurgical methods of treatment.

For mild cases of bulging eyes, the cost of treatment in India is not much, amounting to about Rs. 2000 or so. In cases of surgical diagnosis, the cost of treatment ranges from Rs. 34,000 to Rs. 55,000.

No, the results of the treatment are not permanent since the cause for bulging eyes will depend from patient to patient.