Cigarette smoking increases the likelihood that a person with Graves' disease will develop eye problems. Smoking also increases the chance that Graves' disease will come back after it has been successfully treated.
definition
Graves' disease is a condition in which the thyroid gland becomes too active, producing too much thyroid hormone. People with this disease may feel nervous, lose weight, feel hot when other people don't, sweat a lot, have rapid heartbeats, and have diarrhea; all of these symptoms result from an abnormal speeding up of the body's functions. Graves' disease can also cause serious complications that affect the eyes, such as protrusion of the eyes, double vision, and eye muscle abnormalities.
Graves' disease can be treated with medication or with radiation aimed at the thyroid gland; people with this disease usually don't have to have surgery.
