Bulging eyes can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'needs attention' to 'generally fatal'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.
Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose bulging eyes, we could:
Cause | Probability | Status |
---|---|---|
Orbital Cellulitis | 94% | Confirm |
Mercury Toxicity | 29% | Unlikely |
Histiocytosis X | 29% | Unlikely |
Hyperthyroidism | 1% | Ruled out |
Choroidal Hemangioma | 0% | Ruled out |
Brain Tumor | 0% | Ruled out |
Rhabdomyosarcoma | 0% | Ruled out |
Have you noticed, or have others commented, that your eyes seem to be bulging out or protruding?
Possible responses:
→ No / don't know→ Yes, due to past hyperthyroidism now resolved → Yes, due to current hyperthyroidism → Yes, but I don't know why |
Meningiomas – benign tumors that originate in the covering (meninges) around the brain – can cause different symptoms, depending on where they grow. They may cause weakness or numbness, seizures, an impaired sense of smell, bulging eyes, and changes in vision. In elderly people, they may cause memory loss and difficulty in thinking, similar to that found with Alzheimer's disease.
Rarely, damage to the pituitary gland causes bulging eyes (exophthalmos).
Marked proptosis (bug eyes), or eye changes typical of hyperthyroidism have been associated with mercury toxicity.
Forward displacement of the eye is one symptom of Orbital cellulitis.
A rhabdomyosarcoma near the eye(s) may cause bulging.