1. Eyes "bulging out" – The eyeball protrudes from its socket, causing the thyroid gland to become displaced and accumulate, pushing the eyeball outwards, making it appear bulging like a goldfish's bubble eyes.

2. Red and swollen eyes – Swollen eyelids and conjunctival congestion cause the thyroid gland to release inflammatory factors, making the eyelids and sclera red and swollen, like the eyes after rubbing them with sand for a long time.

3. Dry, gritty eyes – After the eyeball protrudes, the eyelids can no longer completely cover the eyeball, causing moisture on the surface of the eye to evaporate quickly, like water in an uncovered glass. Therefore, the eyes feel dry and gritty, as if there is dust in them.

4. Double vision – Inflammation can affect the small muscles that move the eyes, causing them to become unresponsive. For example, if you try to look to the left, one eye may turn, but the other may not follow, resulting in two images of the same thing, like seeing an apple as two separate objects.

5. Photophobia, tearing, dryness, and swelling – Eyes become extremely sensitive. When exposed to bright light (such as sunlight or flashlight beam), the eyes will squint and tear up, feeling uncomfortable as if just waking up to bright light.

6. Eyelids that don't close completely or open too wide – Some children (or adults) may find that their eyelids either don't close completely when sleeping, leaving a small slit, or they open them very wide, appearing as if they are "staring." This is caused by inflammation affecting the eyelid muscles.

In short, thyroid eye disease is essentially the eyes being disrupted by Graves' disease, resulting in bulging, red, swollen, dry, photophobic, and even double vision.

