Thyroid enlargement, causes and treatment

The thyroid gland is an organ of a small size located on the neck and fulfilling an important role in the work of the human body. The thyroid gland is responsible for the production of two major hormones, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4), which control the formation and utilization of cell energy. For the development of thyroxine, a certain amount of iodine is required, the deficit of which arises when it is insufficiently supplied with food and from the external environment. This problem can cause an increase in the thyroid gland and other manifestations of its dysfunction.

Hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism

With excessive secretion of hormones, a person develops hyperthyroidism. Inadequate production of thyroid hormones entails hypothyroidism, or an increase in the thyroid gland. In the treatment of all thyroid gland diseases, supervision by an endocrinologist is mandatory.

An enlargement of the thyroid gland is a term that displays only a symptom, but not a morphological characteristic of the disease. Clinical and laboratory studies are performed for the diagnosis.

Goiter Varieties

Sometimes in diseases of the thyroid gland there is no change in its functioning, but often the body somehow reacts to these problems. The enlargement of the thyroid gland can be partial or complete. Depending on this, the nodular or diffuse goiter is distinguished, respectively. The following diseases are accompanied by goitre:

• Diffuse goiter or Graves-Bazed disease ;
• Goiter endemic (euthyroid) is caused by a deficiency in the environment of iodine;
• Goiter, which is provoked by the use of thyreostatic drugs and harmful food additives;
• A benign tumor of the thyroid gland, the so-called adenoma;
• Thyroiditis, or Hashimoto's goiter;
• Thyroid cancer.

Thyroid enlargement, treatment

When diagnosing thyroid diseases, ultrasound is always performed and the level of hormones is determined not only by the thyroid gland, but also by the pituitary gland.

In the treatment of all these diseases, iodine deficiency is primarily eliminated. To do this, the patient's body is injected with special preparations made from hormones of slaughter cattle, which can positively influence the state of the organism by regulating metabolic processes.

Symptoms of pathology

The thyroid gland is one of the endocrine glands involved in maintaining homeostasis.

The enlarged thyroid gland has an extremely negative effect on the state of the body and human behavior. Patients are apathetic, slow, swollen and obese, they have increased sensitivity to cold and temperature changes. Most often they have low blood pressure, constipation, edema, memory and hearing are broken.

The enlargement of the thyroid gland can lead to compression and some neck deformation, changes in the position of the esophagus and trachea. The patient complains of shortness of breath, sometimes a violation of the swallowing process. Lymphatic and blood vessels are also contracted, and blood supply is deteriorated and the outflow of blood is disturbed.

It follows that with an enlarged thyroid gland the clinical picture depends on the degree of its increase. In order to determine the patient's condition, a special scale is used:

I degree - enlargement of the gland can be determined palpation;

II degree - the increase is diagnosed by swallowing eye;

III degree - enlargement of the gland is noticeable at rest;

IV degree - giant craw.

Diffusive enlargement of the thyroid gland is manifested by emotional instability, sweating, tachycardia, weakness, weight loss. In severe cases, this pathology can also be manifested as a disruption in the functioning of the liver, myocardium, and kidneys.