Thyroid. Signs of violation of its functions

Thyroid gland is a relatively large gland of the endocrine system. It is located near the neck, in front of the trachea and slightly below the larynx.

The thyroid gland secretes the following hormones directly into the blood: triiodothyronine and thyroxine, for the formation of which iodine and tyrosine are needed. And also the hormone calcitonin, which regulates the metabolism of calcium in the body. In addition, they participate in the maturation, growth and functioning of tissues and organs, determine the metabolism. Their excess or deficiency is difficult to tolerate the thyroid gland. The signs of the resulting diseases are easily recognizable. For example, lack of iodine in the environment, the presence of concomitant diseases in man lead to the development of hypothyroidism, in which absolutely all metabolic processes are slowed, which, in turn, causes disturbances in tissues and organs. The thyroid gland ceases to function properly. Signs of hypothyroidism can not be seen immediately, since it develops slowly. Gradually the patient becomes weak, drowsy, indifferent to everything, freezes even in the summer, his ability to remember worsens. External changes are reflected, first of all, on the face: around the eyes there are initially minor swelling, which, in the absence of treatment, diverge throughout the body - a myxedema occurs.

It happens that even from birth, the thyroid gland is poorly functioning or absent altogether. The signs of such disorders occurring in the maternal womb are visible immediately after the birth of the baby. From birth, he has pronounced changes in the brain. In this case, they talk about cretinism - the extreme form of the disease. These patients can be easily recognized by appearance: dry icteric skin, small growth, swollen tongue, which does not seem to fit in the mouth, does not allow to speak normally, brittle hair, nails. There are also deaf-mutes among them.

With the lack of iodine, there is another disease - endemic goiter. Signs of an increase in the thyroid gland depend on what kind of goiter developed. It can be diffuse (uniform increase) or nodal (one share increased).

The disease opposite to hypothyroidism is hyperthyroidism, in which an excessive amount of hormones secretes the thyroid gland. His symptoms concern changes that occur in connection with the violation of the main, which is part of the total, metabolism. As a result of its increase, the body's need for oxygen increases, a lot of heat is formed in it, the pulse is accelerated, the skin vessels expand, the person sweats violently, the nervous system is excited, the digestive system works.

It is worth repeating that much more often the signs of the thyroid gland, which produces too many hormones or, conversely, suffers from their lack, are found in those regions, the environment of which contains very little iodine.

First of all, this applies to territories in all world countries with a predominance of serozems and podzolic soils. To provide the body with the right amount of hormones, the thyroid gland is forced to increase. So the body shows a defensive reaction. Function of the gland in areas of endemia can be lowered or increased. To prevent various forms of goiter that arise in similar areas, you must take table salt, enriched with the potassium iodide introduced into it. It is added at the rate of 25 g per kilogram of salt. As a rule, such salt goes on sale in cellophane or paper packs. Keep it in a sealed container of glass or wood. Other storage conditions lead to the evaporation of potassium iodide and the loss of the prophylactic value of salt. Such systematic prevention is enough to prevent thyroid disease.