Symptoms and Treatments

What is Hypothyroidism?

Hypothyroidism is a medical condition where the body’s thyroid hormone called thyroxin consistently falls below normal levels to result in a hormonal deficiency. It can be rooted to a dysfunction of the thyroid gland or inadequate stimulation of the gland by the pituitary hormone TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone). Hypothyroidism afflicts four times more women than men, especially women between the ages of 35 and 60.

The thyroid hormone maintains the body’s metabolism that breaks down the foods we eat into basic compounds absorbed by the body for proper nutrition and growth, strength, body temperature and heart rate. So when it becomes deficient and untreated, body growth is stunted and suffers Cretinism and in severe cases can cause coma.

1. Cretinism results from decreased production of T4 and exhibits mental retardation, stunted growth and coarse facial features, often mistaken for dwarfism.
2. Myxedema coma is a life-threatening coma that sets in gradually as the hypothyroid condition worsens or may be induced by sedatives, narcotics, injuries or surgery.

Causes and Risk Factors of Hypothyroidism

The most common trigger is an inherited condition called Hashimoto’s thryroiditis named after Dr. Hakaru Hashimoto who first described the condition in 1912. It is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks the thyroid gland that gets enlarged. In addition, insufficient thyroxin production can be triggered by

Other causes are dysfunction of the thyroid gland due to disease of the gland itself or thyroidectomy, radiation therapy with radioactive iodine, and failure of the pituitary gland to produce thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).

A person risks suffering the condition as they grow older, over 50 in women and over 60 in men. A chronic iodine deficiency as well as untreated goiter can lead to a dysfunction of the thyroid gland. A history of thyroid related disorders indicates a high risk as well as contracting diabetes, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. A raised cholesterol level can also increase hypothyroid conditions.

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

• Hypothyroidism sets in progressively over several months or years. The early hints are hardly noticeable to include low energy and constant fatigue, weight loss despite high appetite, constipation, depression, memory lapses, impaired coordination, goiter, puffy face, hands and feet, droopy eyelids and swelling around the eyes, hair loss particularly the eyebrows, anemia, dry skin and brittle nails, and high blood cholesterol.
• In prolonged non-treatment, the cretinism develops with symptoms that include constant drooling, a pot belly, a swayback, stunted growth in children and short stature as well as irregularly formed teeth. If diagnosed in a new born or even in a young child, cretinism can be reversed.
• In severe cases where Myxedema coma gradually sets in, the symptoms include stupor, abnormally shallow breathing, low levels of blood sugar and sodium, reduced body temperature and low blood pressure.

Diagnosis of Hypothyroidism

After a thorough check of a patient’s medical history to ascertain familial disposition to the condition, a physical and medical examination can reveal through blood tests the low T4 and a high TSH levels indicative of hypothyroidism. Palpitation of the larynx can reveal abnormal swelling or growth of the thyroid gland and subsequent blood tests can confirm the diagnosis.

Treatment of Hypothyroidism

The condition often persists throughout one’s life and because hypothyroidism is deficiency of the thyroid hormone, its effective treatment involves thyroid hormone supplementation. It can be natural using extracts from the thyroid glands of animals or pharmaceutically synthesized such as levothyroxine.