Thyroid Gland Structure And And Its Control Difficulties

By Lorriane Figeroa


Located in the front of our neck is an important part called the thyroid gland. This is the part of our body which takes care of processing the iodine intake in order to produce hormones. These hormones are responsible for helping the metabolic system to function properly and also help in other bodily processes which regulates growth. The pituitary gland which is situated in our brain also controls the efficacy and rate of the hormone production.

If the thyroid gland is not quite active in production of hormones, this can lead to the health problem called hypothyroidism. The major cause of this problem include postpartum thyroiditis when the gland swells after giving birth, autoimmune thyroiditis, acute thyroiditis and silent one. If the gland functions the opposite as it produces too much amount of hormone, it can also lead to health risk called hyperthyroidism. The major cause of this problem includes grave's disease, toxic multinodular goiter, and too much intake of iodine, toxic nodule and Hashitoxicosis.

Numerous signs and symptoms according to the level of hormone deficiency may show that one person has hypothyroidism. Mental forgetfulness and fogginess is common coupled with fatigue and feeling excessively cold. Some women may have long period of menstruation with severe bleeding and experience very dry skin. For those who suffer hypothyroidism, feeling of heat intolerance and too much sweating is common. The menstruation is very irregular and with scant flow. People above 70 and those whose condition are mild may not feel any of these signs until the problem has worsened.

There are also thyroid problems which can occur when it is the structure of the gland that is affected. These problems can range from benign and simple cyst to more serious ones like cancer which can either be follicular, papillary, anaplastic or medullary. The enlargement of this gland known as goiter may also form and vary in sizes from less noticeable to huge enough which will need surgical removal. Actual location of this gland may be in an abnormal area because of some abnormalities of people during developmental stage.

There are also signs and symptoms which can be experiences when the structure of this gland has a problem. This may include tracheal or esophagus compression which leads to difficulty in swallowing and breathing. It may even reach the size wherein it becomes very cosmetically unappealing. The increase in size leads to bleeding which can cause local pain. If one has cancer problem in this gland, he may also experience systemic symptoms like change in appetite, night sweats, and weight loss.

Depending on problems being experienced, there are different ways being used to address it. Medications may be used to reduce the hormone production while others inject synthetic hormone to supply the inadequacy. Surgical treatment is done on over enlarge gland as when it compresses the airways. For those who are no longer responding to medication, radioactive ablation is usually being performed. This is also done for those who have certain form of cancer in this gland.




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