Introduction to Hypothyroidism

You may know what thyroid hormone is, or you may not know it. We may not be familiar with many things in our body, but if you don't know some very important things, it will cause some troubles. What is thyroid hormone? Let's learn a little bit about it. What is low thyroid hormone? How is it caused? How to prevent and treat it?

Thyroid hormone is a type of endocrine hormone. The thyroid gland can be said to be the largest endocrine gland in the body. Thyroid diseases are mainly divided into two types: hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. Symptoms are generally not easy to detect. When the disease occurs, there will be an enlarged thyroid gland. When the symptoms are mild, the patient feels uncomfortable swallowing. If thyroid hormone is secreted too much, the body's metabolism will accelerate, causing the pulse to speed up, intestinal motility to accelerate and the nervous system to become more sensitive; if the secretion is insufficient, physiological metabolic activities will slow down. Lack of thyroid hormone can affect all body functions. Depending on the severity of the symptoms and individual differences, there may be no symptoms or the symptoms may be severe enough to be life-threatening.

For example, stage 1 hypothyroidism (damaged thyroid gland) is characterized by high thyroxine-releasing hormone, high thyroid-stimulating hormone, and low thyroxine. It is caused by thyroid autoimmunity, radiation therapy, or medications (lithium, iodine). It is one of the most common thyroid diseases, affecting an average of about 1% of women. Stage II hypothyroidism (inability to produce thyroid-stimulating hormone) means high thyroxine-releasing hormone, low thyroid-stimulating hormone, and low thyroxine. The cause may be damage to the pituitary gland or a tumor. Although there is enough thyroxine-releasing hormone in the body, the pituitary gland cannot produce thyroid-stimulating hormone, so thyroid hormone secretion is still insufficient. Stage III hypothyroidism (inability to produce thyroxine-releasing hormone) means low thyroxine-releasing hormone, low thyroid-stimulating hormone, and low thyroxine. The cause may be damage to the hypothalamus in the brain or a tumor. Because the hypothalamus cannot produce thyroxine-releasing hormone, the secretion of thyroid-stimulating hormone and thyroxine is insufficient.

Hypothyroidism in children means thyroid dysplasia, which leads to slow growth, difficulty in gender development, deafness and lack of skin pigmentation. If it is diagnosed and treated early, it may still return to normal. In adults, hypothyroidism is caused by thyroid autoimmune diseases, radiation therapy, or thyroidectomy. One of the thyroid autoimmune diseases is Hashimoto's disease, which can cause thyroid enlargement and lead to serious complications. The initial symptoms of Hashimoto's disease are weakness, fatigue, fear of cold, neck pain, nervousness, slow heartbeat, muscle cramps, anemia, and heavy menstruation. If not treated, it will lead to slow speech, weight gain, constipation, heavy hands and feet, hoarseness, difficulty breathing, chest pain, mild deafness, and cessation of menstruation. Severe hypothyroidism can lead to heart failure and coronary artery hypoxia.

This is a disease that may cause many serious consequences, and it is not uncommon. Therefore, it is recommended that if you find similar symptoms or feel unwell, you should go to the hospital for examination in time. If someone around you has this disease, you can also tell him the dangers of this disease and the treatment methods. Of course, the doctor will tell you, so it is right to seek medical attention in time if you have any problems.