Severe health problems begin with diseases of a small organ in the neck. Goiter chronic ailments lead to an enlargement of the thyroid gland. The extreme stage of complications is referred to as thyrotoxic crisis. With this complication, the result of clinical symptoms is fatal in 20% of cases. At the time of acute manifestations of dangerous conditions, the patient needs urgent care and constant monitoring by medical personnel.
Difficulties in the treatment of chronic organ diseases
A person has severe choking from unrest, allergic reactions, it becomes difficult to swallow - it can be a thyrotoxic crisis. The urgency of the problem remains to this day: an operational way to treat the thyroid gland is not suitable. After removal of the organ, complications occur that require constant drug therapy for the rest of your life.
Not all doctors recommend resorting to surgical removal of the thyroid gland, and few specialists are able to perform such an operation. A small organ is part of the lymphatic system of the body. If you remove the link from the chain of complex processes, the infection will be able to penetrate freely into the region of the lungs, bronchi, and stomach.
A typical manifestation of a complication in a person with a removed thyroid gland is a stomach ulcer. The appointment of tablets and other medicines is not able to make up for the lost function of the organ. Patients with chronic diseases are at risk of getting a thyrotoxic crisis. With the existing predisposition of the body to swelling of goiter tissue, it is recommended that patients and loved ones familiarize themselves with the principles of first aid during clinical conditions.
Ways of acquiring complications
Thyrotoxic crisis is the result of various complications in the body:
- Drug effects on thyroid cells.
- Surgical intervention in the neck.
- Allergic outbreaks, which often occur in spring and autumn.
- Diseases of the lymphatic system.
- Acute conditions caused by a disorder of the central nervous system. Stress leads to such manifestations. Constant tension leads to malfunctions in the body, the thyroid gland increases in size.
- Infection by infections: viruses, parasites.
- Traumatic consequences of the cervical spine.
- Often, a crisis occurs in women during pregnancy as a result of toxicosis.
- Abrupt withdrawal of treatment with antithyroid drugs designed to inhibit the biosynthesis of thyroid hormones.
The main cause of the crisis is the lack of iodine in the body. An increase in the organ can occur with the active process of formation of connective tissue. Pathology occurs after a violation of protein metabolism in the human body.
External manifestations in clinical cases
If a deterioration in well-being with minor loads began to manifest, it could be a thyrotoxic crisis. Symptoms of the disease begin to manifest themselves brightly after taking iodine preparations or thyroid hormones. We highlight the main signs, after which you need to urgently be examined by an endocrinologist. If more than three symptoms are detected, then we can assume the presence of complications - a thyrotoxic crisis.
External manifestations by which you can independently evaluate the development of the disease:
- Decrease in well-being occurs earlier, in comparison with the previous state of the body.
- Often the pulse rises in excess of 100 beats per minute.
- There is increased excitability, irritation occurs due to every detail.
- The picture is supplemented by an increase in pressure.
- Unreasonable increase in body temperature more than 3 degrees.
- Dizziness, nausea, and vomiting appear.
- Digestive disorder.
- Downset respiratory rate.
Procedure before the ambulance arrives
If a thyrotoxic crisis occurs, help should follow immediately. A fatal outcome is possible without initial actions that facilitate the flow of oxygen into the lungs and prevent the blocking of vital metabolic processes. It is advisable to note the previous points that are sources of deterioration in well-being.
We outline the main measures in case of complications:
- Call for emergency care.
- Place the patient on his back, put a roller under the neck.
- In a stuffy room, you need to open the windows, which facilitates the flow of fresh air into the patient's lungs.
- Before the arrival of doctors, you can independently assess the condition: measure the pulse, pressure, temperature. They fix external conditions: skin moisture, blanching of the face.
- Interviewing the patient helps to establish the moment of deterioration in well-being. But a person remains conscious during a thyrotoxic crisis.
How to ease the well-being of the patient?
The acute phase of the disease is accompanied by impaired renal function. Therefore, giving drugs in tablet form is pointless. Drugs are administered intravenously or intramuscularly as prescribed by a doctor or an experienced specialist. At home, there is rarely such an opportunity, they use their own skills of elementary assistance to victims.
We highlight the main measures to normalize the condition:
- If the body temperature is too high, which is often observed during a crisis, then resort to cooling the body. This slows down metabolic processes, restraining the harmful effects of hormones. The patient is placed in a cool bath. In the absence of such, all clothing is removed. An alternative is the following: apply several compresses to various parts of the body. Reduces the temperature rubbing with alcohol solutions.
- A person is watched before the ambulance arrives. The tongue may sink into the larynx, causing strangulation.
- They help to drink as much clean liquid as possible so that dehydration does not occur.
What actions do doctors carry out?
If a thyrotoxic crisis occurs, emergency care includes the appointment of drugs that reduce the effect of thyroid hormones. These substances are actively produced by the thyroid gland in violation of the organ. The result of treatment is a decrease in their serum content.
The outward manifestation of the disease is diffuse toxic goiter. Additional information about the state of the body is provided by the results of the examination by ECG. The deviations are set:
- atrial fibrillation;
- sinus tachycardia;
- violation of intraventricular conduction;
- an increase in the amplitude of the teeth of the QRS and T. complex
Preparations
Treatment of thyrotoxic crisis is necessary for any cause of a critical condition. The following types of medications are used:
- "Merkazolil" is administered intravenously with a dosage of 100 ml.
- A solution of sodium iodide is introduced.
- Orally give a solution of "Lugol" at the rate of 30 drops per day.
- Good results are noted after the injection of Contrical.
- A dropper is installed from solutions: 5% glucose, sodium chloride, albumin. Vitamins B1, B2, nicotinamide are added.
The recovery period with drugs is carried out for at least two weeks after critical conditions. Thyrostatic drugs are initially used , only after more than two days later iodine-containing substances are prescribed.
How to prevent the disease?
Preventive measures are taken to exclude a critical condition of the body - thyrotoxic crisis. Emergency care, the algorithm of which is clearly spelled out in the instructions of the ambulance personnel, will be less painful and irreversible consequences will not appear. So, treatment is carried out before surgery in people with hyperthyroidism. Drugs are selected antithyroid action, prescribe iodine-containing substances.
The fight against hyperthyroidism is a measure of the prevention of critical conditions. Doctors noted the predominance of the disease among women. The crisis in the weaker sex appears 9 times more often than in men. A long-term complication can form at almost any age under the influence of certain factors.