Posts Tagged ‘Thyroid’

Thyroid Problem Prevention

Near 60 million Americans develop some form of thyroid disease. Many medical experts believe that this number will climb as time passes.

As the main gland of metabolism and energy, problems with your thyroid can have an impact on many things including weight, fertility, heart disease, and even mental illness. There are still many more things that can go wrong in our everyday lives if the thyroid gland becomes dysfunctional.

There are methods that can be used to reduce the risk of developing thyroid disease or a dysfunctional thyroid condition. Here are a few.

Ask for a Thyroid Collar When X-Rayed

Do you remember the last time you got dental x-rays, or X-rays of your head, neck or just below that area like a collarbone perhaps? Did the technician use a thyroid collar when you were x-rayed? Make sure you ask for one the next time you need to get an x-ray of the above areas. The collar is heavy lead lined and can be placed around your neck before x-rays are taken.

You always want to minimize exposure to radiation especially around your head area as much as possible. After all, if your thyroid is not the part being x-rayed, then you are allowing unnecessary exposure of your thyroid to radiation. The thyroid is quite sensitive to radiation. Excessive radiation will increase the risk of developing a thyroid condition.

So remember: Ask for a thyroid collar.

Quit Smoking

The toxins in cigarettes can cause great harm to your thyroid gland. Thiocyanate, a toxin found in cigarettes, is especially dangerous to the thyroid and can lead to thyroid disease.

Eye complications due to Graves disease, a condition associated with thyroid disease, is common among smokers as they are more likely to develop it. Treating this complication in smokers is not as effective when compared to non-smokers. Smoking already contains health risks with a host of other symptoms. Thyroid complication due to smoking compounds the health risks of smoking even further.

Ask your doctor for assistance if necessary. For many people, seeing the inside of a smoker’s body did the trick.

Testing and Treating Thyroid Antibodies

German researchers have discovered that treating a patient with levothyroxine in a patient that had Hashimoto’s autoimmune thyroiditis — but TSH level had not gone beyond the normal range — could decrease the onset and extent of autoimmune disease spread.

The researchers came to the conclusion that using a preventative treatment in patients with normal TSH levels who have Hashimoto’s disease reduces the various appearances of autoimmune thyroiditis and could possibly stop the spread of Hashimoto’s disease. It has also been suggested that such treatment may event help prevent the development of hypothyroidism.

A TSH test alone might not be a sufficient test for thyroid symptoms. Ask your doctor to conduct tests for antibodies also or find a doctor willing to provide this type of treatment.

Do not Overdo Soy Intake.

The over-consumption of soy products has been associated with increased risk of thyroid disease development. Many soy products are unnatural forms of soy that can affect your immune system negatively and lead to thyroid problems in certain people.

Natural forms of soy such as tofu and miso soup are better for your health if consumed in moderation. Avoid soy powders, pills or creams. These products contain unnatural parts and will only work against your thyroid function and overall health.

Potassium Iodide In Case of Nuclear Emergency

Potassium iodide can also be purchased over-the-counter. This supplement can be ingested within hours after a nuclear incident and may help protect the thyroid from risk of developing a thyroid condition or even thyroid cancer.

If you happen to reside within 50-100 miles of a nuclear power plant, it’s a good idea to have your own supply of potassium iodide for you and your family where it is easy to locate. You may also want to keep some in the drawer at work and even in your car. You should only take them in the case of an emergency and when the government notifies the public through the Emergency Broadcast System. If this occurs the broadcast will specify recommended level for intake.

The Fluoride in Toothpaste and Your Thyroid

Fluoride can be used as a drug to treat hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid gland). Fluoride causes a thyroid to become more underactive and does so effectively.

Many things we come in contact with regularly such as water, toothpaste and even dental rinses contain fluoride. We need to be careful about how much we allow into our system.

Some experts recommend fluoride free water and toothpaste.

Get Celiac Disease/Gluten Intolerance Diagnosed and Treated

Celiac disease is a condition causing the intestines to react abnormally to gluten. Gluten is a protein commonly found in wheat, rye, oats, barley, kamut, spelt and other grains. Celiac disease must be diagnosed properly and treated as soon as possible. By doing so, it is possible to prevent some cases of autoimmune hypothyroidism.

Celiac disease is also known as celiac sprue or gluten intolerance. In some individuals, medical researchers have discovered that the thyroid antibodies disappear following a three to six month gluten-free diet. This regimen prevents thyroid disease from developing.

Getting the Most from Your Doctor’s Visit

Knowing the risk factors associated with thyroid disease is a crucial part of the successful prevention in an adverse thyroid condition. It is important to educate yourself as much as possible and be informed about thyroid and autoimmune disease.

You can find a great deal of information on the web or even in print at a doctor’s office. This website can provide you with information about thyroid health as well.

Keeping up with the latest information will not only allow you to get the most out of your doctor’s visit but can ensure continued healthy thyroid function for your and your family.

When is Thyroid Surgery Necessary

Many thyroid problems can be effectively treated without the necessity of having to undertake a surgical procedure but there are instances where a doctor might decide that thyroid surgery is the best possible course of action – or perhaps even the only course open.

If a patient has a thyroid nodule and it has continued to grow despite possible fluid removal or the prescribing of thyroxine, a doctor might conclude that surgery is necessary. Similarly, if the nodule is causing the patient pain or undue anxiety. Many doctors consider that once a nodule has a diameter in excess of 4 centimetres it should be operated upon. The Hot nodules (those stimulating the production of the thyroid hormone) are generally treated by either radio-iodine or surgery, and some patients will opt for the surgical procedure because of their concerns
over radio-iodine therapy.

Indications are that the risk of developing hypothyroidism as a result of having a nodule surgically removed for this reason is very low. Likewise, most multinodular goitres can be treated without recourse to surgery. Again, though, there are times when surgery becomes necessary. For example, surgery is indicated if the goitre continues to grow despite treatment; if the goitre has become toxic; if a patient has developed an unsightly looking lump and wants it removed for predominantly cosmetic reasons; if the goitre is substernal – in other words situated in
the lower part of the isthmus of the thyroid gland and difficult to locate and observe – and is considered to be most suitable for surgical removal; and finally if the goitre has resulted in compression of the trachea, which can lead to respiratory problems or infection, or has culminated in arterial compression, which can cause cerebral hypoperfusion and perhaps induce a stroke.

The most common reason for thyroid surgery to be carried out, however, remains thyroid cancer. Although on these occasions it is possible to have a partial thyroidectomy, in general doctors prefer to remove the complete thyroid in a total thyroidectomy, which will be more likely to prevent the cancer’s return at a later date. A partial thyroidectomy is likely to be carried out only for a papillary or follicular cancer that is less than a centimetre in width – and technically still in T1 stage. For those cancers that have been diagnosed as being medullary or anaplastic thyroid cancers (as well as larger papillary and follicular tumours) it is more common to remove the whole of the thyroid. Complete removal of the thyroid will result in the patient then needing to take thyroid hormone replacement tablets on a daily basis.

As with all surgical operations, there is an element of risk involved in thyroid surgery, albeit a very small one. Reactions to anaesthetics, infections or excess bleeding remain potentially harmful but, generally, thyroid surgery is considered a relatively safe and predictable procedure. The most likely possible complications specific to thyroid surgery are damage to the laryngeal nerve, which might result in hoarseness for a little while or, in extreme cases, permanent damage and hypothyroidism, which would then be medically treated.