Every third inhabitant of our planet has problems with this gland. A failure in its work leads to a failure of the whole organism.
The thyroid organ is small, but extremely important – it regulates all metabolism, as well as the work of the cardiovascular and nervous system, physical and mental development. If her work fails, then it certainly affects the health and work of the whole organism. World Thyroid Day has been celebrated since 2009 at the initiative of the European Thyroid Association, this initiative was supported by medical communities on all continents for a reason: every third person on the planet has thyroid problems, and women have them ten times more often than men. According to statistics from the World Health Organization, among endocrine diseases, thyroid pathology ranks first. In Ukraine, thyroid diseases account for 44.8% of all endocrine diseases. Doctors say that in recent years there has been a steady increase in incidence rates.
Suddenly lose weight? This is a thyroid gland. Do you get fat from the air? She too
The thyroid gland resembles a small butterfly, so you can often hear about the problems with it, like the “butterfly disease”. Iron produces only three hormones, but extremely important hormones – thyroxin, triiodothyronine, and thyrocalciotonin. They help to process and assimilate all the nutrients entering the body, stimulate metabolism, regulate the production of energy and heat, puberty, significantly affect the nervous system, skeleton and muscles. According to endocrinologist Lyudmila Pilipchuk, the thyroid takes on the function of a body guard, and any disruption to her work immediately affects all systems.
And the thyroid gland can “rebel” for a lot of reasons: there are genetics, stress, and insufficient nutrition, and poor ecology, as well as iodine deficiency. If a malfunction occurs, and the thyroid gland produces too many hormones, the doctor diagnoses the patient’s hyperthyroidism, but, on the contrary, the hormones become less – “hypothyroidism.”
– When hypothyroidism looks like a person becomes sluggish, adynamic, freezes even at normal temperature, his heartbeat, pressure, appetite, motility of the gastrointestinal tract, and liver function decrease. The patient feels weak, quickly overworked, may cry for no reason, may be a sleepy day and not sleep at night. Professional skills often fall: a person at work does not have time to cope with the amount of work that was previously customary, the doctor explains.
Often a person considers such a condition to be normal and starts the disease.
– With hyperfunction of the thyroid gland, tachycardia is observed, blood pressure rises, sweats, hair falls out, nails break, a person is over-excited, cannot sit still, but gets tired quickly, emotionally – reacts violently to any irritant, increases metabolism – the person eats a lot, He has a good appetite, and at the same time he is losing weight. Women may experience a failure of the menstrual cycle, and men may have less potency, says Pilipchuk.
If you have one or more symptoms, you should see a doctor and be examined: treatment can take several months, and can become lifelong – it all depends on the degree of the disease and the individual reactions of the patient.
7 symptoms of thyroid problems
Diseases of the thyroid gland are dangerous because violations in its work are often masked as symptoms of diseases of other organs. Therefore, an unsuspecting person goes for help to different specialists and spends time getting the wrong diagnoses when an endocrinologist can help him get to the root cause of the condition and prescribe the correct treatment. It is worse when a person ignores the “first bells” and convinces himself that the ailments are temporary, without being able to see the whole picture. What you need to pay attention to?
1. A feeling of discomfort in the neck
If you feel that it has become difficult for you to swallow, your voice is hoarse, and your neck is swollen or enlarged, it’s time to see an endocrinologist.
2. Bowel problems
Hormones affect the speed of secretion of digestive juices and motility of the gastrointestinal tract. Hyperthyroidism often leads to diarrhea, and deficiency of thyroid hormones can be a cause of constipation.
3. Weight has changed very drastically
Weight gain occurs even with different diets and physical exertion may indicate a very, very low level of thyroid hormones. On the other hand, if the thyroid gland produces more hormones than the body needs them, there may be a sudden drop in weight. All these symptoms should never be ignored.
4. Anxiety and terrible depression
Thyroid hormones increase mainly the speed of processes in the brain, although dissociation reactions are possible. Deficiency of iodine-containing thyroid hormones reduces these functions. In hyperthyroidism, a person may seem overly nervous, to detect psychoneurotic tendencies, such as a complex of anger, anxiety, or paranoid manifestations.
5. Constant fatigue
Fatigue, fatigue, exhaustion, lack of energy during the day is a typical problem for people whose thyroid gland does not work properly. Many of them are not able to survive the day without sleep or rest breaks.
6. Hair loss and skin changes
Low levels of a variety of hormones, as a result of thyroid gland disorders affect the hair growth cycle and cause their loss, and the hair becomes brittle and very dry. More changes are noticeable on the skin – it is rough and thick.
7. Disruption of the menstrual cycle
In women, thyroid hormone deficiency is often the cause of increased and excessively heavy menstruation. Sometimes, in a number of women, thyroid hormone deficiency causes irregular menstruation and even amenorrhea.
PREVENTION
To avoid thyroid problems:
undergo preventive examinations;
replace ordinary salt with iodized salt;
include seafood and other foods with iodine content in your diet: grapes, beef, oats, eggs, sea kale;
stop smoking: it is scientifically proven that smokers are more likely to have an enlarged thyroid gland and thyrotoxic goiter;
get rid of excess weight.