Friday, February 1, 2013

Underactive Thyroid Symptoms - Hypothyroidism



Hypothyroidism and the underactive thyroid symptoms it causes is a common problem faced by millions of people around the world. Hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid glands fail to produce enough hormones. In such a condition, the hormones fail to stimulate the metabolism system of the body and slow down the processes of the body. Various research carried by medical experts have deduced that the occurrence of Hypothyroidism is more common among people above the age group of fifty years that in a lesser age group bracket, but it does not mean that people who are less averse to it will stop taking precautions. Hypothyroidism increases the cholesterol level and makes a person more immune to heart disease and diabetes.

Underactive Thyroid Symptoms:


Certain symptoms of Hypothyroidism in the initial stages may include weakness of the body, mental fatigue, and increase in the normal weight, depressive behavior, headache, and stomach pain, feeling excessive cold, pains in the body, pain in the joints, Constipation, hair fall, brittle nails, pale face, muscle pain and more. These are some of the normal symptoms that one can go through while facing Hypothyroidism.


In the later stage when the problem increases, the symptoms may include a loss of memory, improper speech condition, drowsiness, dizziness, memory loss in frequent periods, irregular menstrual condition, dry skin, loss of appetite, muscles spasms and more. Pregnant women will have regular spells of dizziness and children will have to suffer from various developmental problems like stagnant height, excessive weight gain and memory problems.

Causes of Hypothyroidism:


As mentioned earlier, Hypothyroidism is a common disease and may occur due to a variety of reasons. It may occur due to unhealthy and unhygienic eating habits leading to thyroid problems. Eating sugary or starchy food and junk foods may often give trouble to the thyroid glands. Surgical removal of the entire thyroid glands, chronic stress, Autoimmune Diseases like Hashimoto's thyroiditis and atrophic thyroiditis that can appear suddenly and radiation treatment, which tends to harm the thyroid glands are some of the other causes that may cause Hypothyroidism.


Congenital Hypothyroidism, a term used when a child is born without a thyroid gland or has a dysfunctional one is also quite common among children. Viral or Autoimmune Thyroiditis leads to Hypothyroidism and so does any disease in the Pituitary gland. Certain medications like Lithium and interferon alpha have also been known to cause side-effects causing Hypothyroidism. Other causes may include consuming low or no iodine and infiltration by bacterial agents that harm the thyroid glands.

Underactive Thyroid Treatment:


One of the most common treatments recommended by doctors is to replace the thyroxine with another thyroid hormone called levothyroxine. This option is very safe and does not require you to incur huge expenses on medical bills. But for this, the metabolism rate of the body is needed to be checked to make it normal and only then it should be done. There are various other treatments that are available too, but this particular treatment is considered much safer than the rest. Natural treatments are also available, but that depends on the severity of your condition. If levothyroxine is just on stage one, these treatments are often found to be beneficial.


Hypothyroidism is not an incurable disease and with time, medications and precautions, the treatments will be helpful in the long-term. The most important part to consider is that you must immediately consult a doctor in case you start seeing the symptoms.

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