Content:

• What are the signs of a thyroid cyst?
• Don’t delay diagnostics

A thyroid cyst, also known as a thyroid nodule, is a small sac filled with fluid or blood that grows on the thyroid gland. These sacs can also be filled with a solid substance that can sometimes be a harbinger of thyroid cancer. As one of the most important glands in the human body, the thyroid is involved in many processes, including the body’s metabolism, protein production, and the regulation of hormone production. 

What are the signs of a thyroid cyst?

The cyst on the thyroid gland can be of different sizes, on which the symptoms will depend. People with a small cyst (3 mm or less) usually do not have any symptoms. Most of these people do not realize they have a cyst until a doctor detects it during diagnosis.

People with a large cyst may also not have any symptoms, although they may see or feel a lump at the base of the throat. However, when the cyst grows large, the person may experience the following symptoms:

• Difficulty swallowing
•  the voice becomes hoarse;
• breathing problems due to a cyst;
• pain in the area of ​​the lump.

Sometimes a large cyst can affect thyroid function and lead to increased hormone production, a condition called hypothyroidism.

Unfortunately, at the moment it is impossible to accurately name the cause of the formation of a cyst on the thyroid gland, but many doctors believe that it develops more often in people who have iodine deficiency or a genetic defect that affects the thyroid gland. Thyroid cysts are also more likely in humans:

• with Hashimoto’s disease (the disease destroys the thyroid gland);
• with hyperfunction of the thyroid gland;
• a person who has a multinodular goiter.

Women aged 40 and over and those whose parents or immediate family have had a thyroid cyst.

Don’t delay diagnostics

Modern imaging techniques such as ultrasound, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect a thyroid cyst in its early stages. 4% to 8% of adult women and 1% to 2% of adult men have a thyroid cyst, which is found on physical examination. Near 30%, adult women have nodules that can be detected by ultrasound. In fact, a thyroid nodule diagnosis is the most common endocrine problem for many people.

The consequences of a thyroid cyst can be dire. Although most thyroid nodules are benign (non-cancerous), about 10% of the nodules contain abnormal cancerous cells. Thus, diagnosis is very important in examining your thyroid gland and its changes to determine if cancer is present.

It is worth paying attention to the main reason that contributed to the formation of the cyst. It is these factors that can be dangerous to human health. These include:

• processes of an infectious nature;
• hyperplasia;
• frequent stress;
•  hormonal disorders;
• changes in follicles;
• an inflammatory process in the gland itself.

Of course, in order to answer the question of whether a cyst is dangerous to health, you need to be diagnosed by an endocrinologist who can identify the cause and possible suppuration.