To diagnose cavernous sinus thrombosis and identify the bacteria causing the infection, a doctor takes a blood sample and samples of fluid, mucus, or pus from the throat and nose and sends them to the laboratory to be cultured. High doses of intravenous antibiotics are given immediately. If the condition doesn't improve after 24 hours of antibiotic treatment, the sinus may be drained surgically. Exophthalmos Exophthalmos is an abnormal bulging of one or both eyes. All people with protruding eyes don't necessarily have exophthalmos.
Some people simply have prominent eyes with more white showing than normal.
Many conditions can cause exophthalmos. In some types of thyroid disease, especially Graves' disease, the tissues in the eye socket swell, and deposits of unusual material push the eyeball forward. Exophthalmos can occur suddenly from bleeding behind the eye or from inflammation in the eye socket. Tumors, either cancerous or noncancerous, can form in the eye socket behind the eyeball and push it forward. Cavernous sinus thrombosis causes swelling from the backup of blood in the veins exiting the eye.