What are the causes of thyroid lesions

Thyroid lesions are also a common multiple disease in clinical practice, because this disease will definitely have a great impact on everyone. I believe that you may have seen patients with this disease in your life. You also know that if this disease cannot be cured for a long time, many complications will occur. And everyone also knows that to treat the disease, you generally need to fully understand why. So let me introduce the causes of thyroid lesions below.

Goiter is divided into two categories: simple goiter and nodular goiter.

Simple goiter

The cause of simple goiter is related to iodine deficiency in the diet (such as mountainous areas) and increased iodine demand in certain circumstances (such as pregnancy and growth and development periods).

Patients with simple goiter usually have an enlarged thyroid gland in their neck, and B-ultrasound can also confirm the enlarged thyroid gland, but there are no nodules inside the thyroid gland. The thyroid function of patients with simple goiter is normal, which can be distinguished from goiter caused by hyperthyroidism and Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Patients with simple goiter do not require surgical treatment, only supplemental thyroid hormone preparations are required. Generally, the enlarged thyroid gland will subside on its own after taking the medicine for a period of time. At present, there are two main types of thyroxine preparations used in China. One is thyroxine tablets, 40 mg/tablet; the other is levothyroxine sodium tablets (such as Euthyrox and Levothyroxine), 50 ug/tablet or 100 ug/tablet. Thyroxine tablets are animal preparations extracted from the pig's thyroid gland. They are relatively rough and not very pure. Levothyroxine tablets are artificially synthesized preparations with a relatively high purity.

Nodular goiter

It is the most common thyroid disease. The cause of the disease is not very clear, and it may be related to endocrine disorders, high-iodine diet, environmental factors, genetic factors, and history of radiation exposure.

Patients with nodular goiter usually discover it through physical examination or seek medical treatment after discovering a lump in the neck. Physical examination may reveal nodules larger than 1 cm, which are usually soft or tough, with a smooth surface and clear boundaries, and can move up and down with swallowing. Thyroid function test indicators were within normal range. Ultrasound examination shows that the thyroid gland is normal or enlarged, and one or both sides of the thyroid gland may have single or multiple nodules. These nodules may be cystic, mixed, or solid; they are oval in shape. There may be a halo around the nodule. The shape may be irregular; the boundaries may be unclear; the blood supply may be rich; solid nodules may have coarse calcifications with acoustic shadows behind them, but are generally not accompanied by microcalcifications.

The only way to cure nodular goiter is surgical treatment, but not all nodular goiters require surgical treatment. Generally, surgery is only considered when the nodules in nodular goiter are at least 20mm, or are suspected to be malignant, or are compressive, or are located behind the sternum, or are secondary to hyperthyroidism, or affect appearance, work, and life. If the above situation does not occur, it is recommended to follow up with B-ultrasound every six months. Drugs are not very effective in treating nodular goiter.

We have learned in detail the causes of thyroid lesions in the above article. Only by recognizing the cause of the disease in time can we find a better way to treat it. After all, the thyroid gland has a great impact on the human body, and it is related to both the endocrine system and the digestive system, so we must take a good look at it.