The Record Special Sections Health Quarterly 07-26-2020 | Page 10

10 | SUNDAY, JULY 26, 2020 | THE RECORD
HEALTH QUARTERLY / ADVERTISING SECTION
BEING WELL
The Graves’ Disease
Community Should
Focus on Eye Health
People living with Graves’ disease
have a lot to focus on. The disease,
an autoimmune disorder that causes
an overproduction of the thyroid
hormone, causes a variety of troublesome
symptoms, many of which can happen
with other diseases, leading to misdiagnosis
or delayed diagnosis. Some common
symptoms include anxiety, tremors, heat
sensitivity, weight loss, hair loss, change in
menstrual cycle and irregular heartbeat.
A related, yet separate condition that is
important for people living with Graves’ to
focus on is Thyroid Eye Disease (TED), a
serious, progressive and vision-threatening
autoimmune disorder affecting up to half
of the Graves’ community. In support of
Graves’ Disease Awareness Month, Horizon
Therapeutics and patient advocacy organization,
Prevent Blindness are working
together to help people living with Graves’
understand their risk for TED and how to
manage symptoms if they appear. Spotting
the signs and symptoms of TED early can
help decrease the chances of serious, and
potentially permanent, eye damage.
IT’S TIME TO FOCUS
ON EYE HEALTH
The first step is to understand your risk
Urgent Care Centers: Non-emergency Option to the ER
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
can access diagnostic services and treatment,
as well as referrals to other specialists
within the Englewood Health Physician
Network, on a walk-in basis, with no
appointment needed. Englewood Health
accepts most insurance plans. For more
information or to book an appointment, call
201-205-2172.
ATLANTIC HEALTH SYSTEM
Atlantic Health System offers more than
400 sites of care, including walk-in, urgent
care, and care at six New Jersey hospitals.
Atlantic Health System has partnered with
every MedExpress location in New Jersey,
north of Monmouth and Mercer counties.
for TED. Primary risk factors include gender,
age and smoking status. Women are
five times more likely than men to develop
TED, but men are at greater risk for more
severe symptoms. The disease also occurs
most often in people between the ages
of 40-49 and 60-69 years old, and people
who smoke are eight times more likely to
develop TED.
The next step is to observe the symptoms.
TED causes inflammation and pressure
behind the eyes that lead to symptoms
such as sensitivity to light, a feeling
of grittiness in the eyes, excessive tearing,
swelling of the eyelids, redness and irritation.
As the disease progresses, symptoms
may include eye bulging, eye misalignment
and double vision. All of these symptoms
can reduce a person’s independence, ability
to work and self-confidence.
“The profound physical changes to
my appearance were devastating,” said
Christine Gustafson, who has lived with
Graves’ and TED for more than 10 years.
“I did not recognize myself and actually
frightened others as my face was transformed
by TED. After years of living alone
with this rare autoimmune disorder, I discovered
a community of others with TED.
The centers offer a broad scope of walk-in
care, employer health services, and basic
wellness and prevention services.
Atlantic Health also offers AdvancED
Urgent Care, an in-person, walk-in facility
in Mountain Lakes. Besides area residents,
the facility sees patients from all over who
are traveling or vacationing in the area for
non-life-threatening injuries, including diagnosing
kidney stones, abdominal pain, headaches,
strep throat, broken bones, asthma,
bronchitis, stitches, cuts, rashes and falls.
“Our focus is to deal with non-life-threatening
emergencies in a cost-effective, clean
environment so we can relieve the burden on
the emergency departments,” said Dr. Alex
Sarenac, at AdvancED Urgent Care.
Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) causes inflammation and pressure behind the eyes
that lead to symptoms such as sensitivity to light, a feeling of grittiness in the eyes,
excessive tearing, swelling of the eyelids, redness and irritation.
Connecting with the right specialist and
other TED patients was life-changing in the
absolute best ways.”
GETTING THE CARE YOU NEED
If you have Graves’ disease and suspect
you might have TED or notice changes
in your eyes, you should contact an eye
specialist who has experience treating
TED. These include ophthalmologists,
neuro-ophthalmologists and oculoplastic
surgeons.
After receiving a TED diagnosis, resources
can be used to stay informed and take
action. For example, a symptom tracker
can help monitor disease progression and
AdvancEDUrgent Care sees about 20 to
30 patients a day, Dr. Sarenac said.
Information about Atlantic Health urgent
care, and other services can be found
online at https://www.atlantichealth.org/
conditions-treatments/urgent-care.html.
Urgent Care centers practice enhanced
safety measures, including screening
patients for COVID-19 symptoms, providing
sanitizers, and requiring masks for entry.
A number of centers offer testing for
Covid-19 and antibodies.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ENGLEWOOD HEALTH
Englewood Health Urgent Care
in Cresskill provides adult and pediatric
urgent and non-urgent medical care.
GETTY IMAGES
alert your doctor to any changes.
It is important to be your own best advocate
and speak up for the care you deserve.
Tips for getting the right care include not
downplaying symptoms when at the doctor’s
office, asking questions to ensure
all treatment options are presented, and
bringing a friend or loved one along to provide
support and help take notes during the
appointment.
To learn more about TED and access
resources like a symptom tracker and the
TED Specialist Finder, visit ThyroidEyes.
com.
-- Provided by Family Features