Goiter: inflammation of the thyroid gland

The trigger for the enlargement of the thyroid is still unknown, a low iodine diet tends to be the cause of most common goiter

Thyroid problems are hereditary and more frequent in women than in men. One of the related disorders is being the alteration of the best-known thyroid goiter. You can learn more information on this in the next article.

Thyroid: questions and answers

Having good information in relation to this gland is the first step to prevention. Here some questions and answers on the subject:

• What is the thyroid and what is its function in the body?
  It is a gland that weighs 20 grams and is housed in the base of the neck, sides of trachea. Its function is to synthesize, store, and release two hormones, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). These are able to contribute to a proper functioning of cells.
• What are the most common diseases that are related to the thyroid?
  Goiter, which is an increase of the size of the gland. The majority of nodules that grow are benign, but required a medical study to determine it. When thyroid hormone levels decrease in the blood is called hypothyroidism and when they increase, known as hyperthyroidism. It is valid to say that not all those who have thyroid problems have goiter.
• What are the symptoms of disorders of the thyroid gland?
  Nodules appear as lumps on the neck, the patient can discover them to bathe, shave or apply makeup. When they have a considerable size, cause difficulty swallowing or breathing and voice changes.

• Does this disease affect everyone equally?
  Thyroid problems are more common in men, in a ratio of 6 to 1. It is also more likely to occur after the female menopause or after the age of forty.
• What risk factors are associated with thyroid disorders?
  Nodules may appear more in areas with little iodine, when there is a history in the family, when there were treatments with rays in the neck during infancy, by weight gain, when there are autoimmune diseases such as vitiligo, diabetes type 1, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis. They arise, the external desencadentantes such as stress, smoking, bacterial or viral infections, some drug treatments are accurate in particular or overload excessive iodine in a short period.
• What treatments are available today?
  Benign nodules are analyzed every 6 or 12 months, depending on what they consider the endocrinologist. You can try to reduce its size with a surgical treatment. The ingestion of levothyroxine, a substitute is prescribed for patients with hypothyroidism, thyroid hormone, and that pacede hyperthyroidism, methimazole. It is valid to highlight that those who don't smoke or are treated early are more likely to heal completely from this disease.

Features on the goiter

As stated previously, goiter is the most frequent alteration of the thyroid gland. The main feature is the enlargement of the neck, which is detected with the naked eye. According to the way in which affects the thyroid, two types of goiter can be found:

• diffuse: when is enlarged in a uniform manner
• nodular or multinodular: when the increase is irregular either in one or more nodules

These nodules can be small and grow slowly, causing discomfort in the neck, difficulty breathing or swallowing, compression or up to dysphonia. Symptoms may be accompanied by side effects such as excessive production of thyroid hormones, thick skin, feeling cold, constipation, etc.

Anomalies which may lead to goiter can be varied, but they are mostly related to the deficit of iodine in the diet. This causes thyroid have to manufacture it by your hormones. The pituitary gland segregará more TSH (a hormone) to increase its role and its size.
Two other cases of goitre are:

• Hashimoto's Thyroiditis: it is a chronic inflammation and need treatment with thyroxine.
• Graves-Basedow disease: occurs when the immune system produces antibodies that stimulate the thyroid. The TSI limit the effect of TSH, causing hyperthyroidism and increase of the gland.

The diagnosis of goiter is feeling his neck. The doctor evaluates the increase in nodules, sensitivity and looking for signs of compression of organs: dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), dysphonia (voice disorders) or Dyspnea (trouble breathing). Sometimes, a glandular ultrasound allows to see if there are one or more nodules and a microscopic examination of the cells of these packages can be ordered. At the same time, a good way of diagnosing goiter is with bloodtests, thyroid scan or fine needle puncture.

Goiter can keep the same size for a long time or extend its size regularly. It can also cause hyperthyroidism, i.e. an excessive secretion of thyroid hormones.
Simple goiter occurs in people living in areas where iodine is not abundant, both on the ground and in their food. The use of iodized salt would prevent the emergence of goiter, although it is not confirmed. Groups of people with more possibilities of suffering from goiter are: the women, who have a history family, over the age of 40.
The treatment of goitre ranges: tablets to supplement the lack of thyroid hormone, small doses of iodine or potassium iodide; radioactive iodine to shrink the gland or surgery to remove the gland.

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