The main function of the organs of the endocrine system is to produce hormones, without which no process in the human body can proceed. Deviations can lead to disruption of the cardiovascular, reproductive, nervous and other systems. This will be manifested in the form of a deterioration in overall well-being, reproductive health disorders, as well as changes in appearance. One of the most important hormone-forming organs is the thyroid gland. Representatives of the fair sex have characteristic symptoms of the pathology of this gland, which are associated with changes in the hormonal background. In this article we will talk about what are the thyroid diseases in women. However, first you need to disassemble the functions of this body.
Thyroid function
The thyroid gland in women and men is called the organ of the endocrine system, which is located in the neck. In its shape, this gland is similar to a shield, due to which it was given such a name. It is in it that iodine reserves are stored, which are necessary for the production of thyroid hormones. In addition, a hormone is produced in the thyroid gland, which is responsible for regulating the phosphorus-calcium metabolism in the body. The main functions of the thyroid gland in a woman:
- Regulation of the metabolic process.
- The implementation of energy exchange in the female body.
- Maintaining the natural composition of the blood, the level of hemoglobin and red blood cells in it.
- Ensuring the proper functioning of blood vessels, heart, brain, nervous system, kidneys and respiratory organs.
- Growth regulation.
- The correct formation of muscles and skeleton of the embryo, the development of teeth and bones in a growing baby, the protection of the body from caries and osteoporosis.
- Taking part in the production of sex hormones.
The thyroid gland in women also takes part in regulating the function of the reproductive organs, ensuring the successful course of pregnancy, and the development of the fetus.
Causes of disease
One of the most common causes of thyroid disease is a lack of iodine in the body, as well as other elements: fluoride and selenium. These substances are necessary for hormone production. Deficiency occurs due to insufficient content of these elements in water and food. Quite often, problems with the thyroid gland occur in those people who live in regions characterized by insufficient iodine content in soil and water.
Also a very important factor that provokes the development of thyroid disease in women is considered an ecological unfavorable environment. Poisons that are found in water, air and soil destroy the DNA of cells, while interfering with protein synthesis. As a result, hormone production is disrupted.
What other reason can cause thyroid problems in women? A negative role will be played by stress, overwork and excessive nervous stress. They provoke a malfunction in the immune system, as well as the occurrence of autoimmune thyroid ailments. Of particular importance is also the hereditary predisposition, which can cause the development of such pathologies of the thyroid gland.
Types of diseases
There are many different diseases and pathologies of the thyroid gland. The most common of these are the following:
- Euthyroidism. With this thyroid disease, the symptoms in women will be as follows: changes in tissues that adversely affect hormone production. In this case, the gland will function normally, and the disturbances that arise in it, do not cause any deviations in the work of other systems and organs.
- Hypotheriosis. In this case, there is a deficiency of thyroid hormones, which becomes a cause of metabolic disturbances and energy production.
- Hyperthyroidism This disease is an excessive production of hormones, leading to poisoning.
- Autoimmune diseases. These ailments arise with hyperthyroidism due to the fact that the immune cells begin to too actively produce antibodies that destroy the thyroid cells.
- Malignant neoplasms.
Symptoms and signs of pathologies
At the initial stage, it will be very difficult to recognize a thyroid disease in women. Symptoms most often consist in a simple malaise, they are typical of many ailments that are associated with hormonal failure in the female body.
The first signs of any thyroid pathology include weight changes, which can occur both up and down. In addition, if there are problems with the thyroid gland in women, the symptom will be constant fatigue, drowsiness, and a depressed state. In parallel with all this, digestive upset, sweating, and muscle pain are observed.
What other symptoms may be associated with thyroid problems in women? Quite often, due to changes in the hormonal background, various menstrual disorders occur, sexual activity becomes weak. Inhibition of consciousness, distraction appears, memory worsens, a woman becomes irritable, aggressive. Considering the signs and symptoms of the thyroid gland in women, you should also pay attention to the fact that dry skin, hair loss and brittleness may appear.
If these signs of the disease appear, then the woman should seek the help of an endocrinologist. If specialists notice such changes on time, then it will be possible to successfully cure a particular disease. Otherwise, the most serious symptoms will occur, for example, an enlarged gland, bulging eyes, a thickening of the neck, difficulty swallowing. In addition, if you ignore the symptoms of thyroid disease, a woman may experience heart rhythm disturbances, shortness of breath, and dizziness. Sometimes the body temperature rises to 37.5 degrees.
Hypotheriosis
So, we have examined the general symptoms and signs of thyroid disease in women. However, they may vary, depending on the specific ailment. A characteristic sign of hypothyroidism is fear of cold, obesity, drowsiness, hair loss on the eyebrows and head, weakness. In parallel with this, the heart rate slows down, blood pressure decreases. Heart failure, different types of arrhythmias can develop, which can lead to fainting. As a rule, in this case, women begin to develop an early menopause.
Hyperthyroidism
This condition will be characterized by a rapid pulse, increased pressure, sleep disturbances and the appearance of shortness of breath. A woman begins to lose weight very much, becomes too irritable and nervous. Frequent urination is observed, attacks of heat appear, which are changed by chills. Hand tremors often appear. The patient's eyesight sharply worsens, and snoring also appears. The fair sex begins to torment a sense of anxiety, a coma can occur.
Autoimmune thyroiditis
This disease can occur in a chronic and acute form. The acute form is characterized by symptoms that resemble a simple cold. The patient has a fever, a sore throat during swallowing, chills, as well as hoarseness of the voice. How to treat thyroid gland in women in this case? As a rule, specialists prescribe antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs. Hormonal drugs are less commonly prescribed. The disease can last for several weeks.
As for the chronic form of the disease, it is most often found in young patients. Failure in the immune system provokes the destruction of the thyroid gland. Signs of the disease are apathy, fatigue, a constant feeling of lack of sleep. Peeling of the skin, swelling of the eyelids and ankles, hair loss, lowering blood pressure, constipation and fear of cold appear. As a rule, such women gain weight dramatically and cannot lose extra pounds by all kinds of efforts. In parallel with all this, menstrual irregularities are observed in the body.
Diffuse toxic goiter
This pathology is characterized by an autoimmune origin. Thyroid tissue grows, goiter forms. Often this disease is inherited. The main symptoms are: the formation of a tight knot, swelling of the face, thickening of the neck, protrusion of the eyeballs. The eyes are wide open, but the patient rarely blinks. Damage to the optic nerve can even provoke blindness.
The patient begins to lose weight dramatically, trembling fingers, palpitations, nausea, vomiting, intestinal disorders, darkening of the skin and an increase in skin moisture. As a complication, fatty degeneration of the liver, diabetes, infertility.
Malignant tumor
Nodules in the thyroid gland are formed due to hyperplasia, as well as excessive cell division. Such nodes may be benign, but sometimes degenerate into cancer. The main symptoms in the occurrence of such malignant tumors are pain in the neck, ears, in the form of difficulty breathing and swallowing, coughing, hoarseness, and a rapid increase in tightness on the neck.
Symptoms of ailments in patients of different ages
Hormonal disorders, as a rule, negatively affect the life process of the entire female body. The nature of the signs and the severity of the consequences in the case of a thyroid pathology in a woman will largely depend on her age. By the way, you can see a photo of the thyroid gland in women in our article.
In adolescents
Thyroid diseases in children can be congenital, but sometimes occur later, during puberty. The impetus for this is an infectious disease, malnutrition, psychological stress.
Lack of hormones and disruption of the thyroid gland can provoke deviations in growth, mental and physical development. There is a possibility of a decrease in intelligence.
Symptoms that you need to pay attention to are as follows: lack of menstruation, poor development of the mammary glands. Moreover, a girl may experience growth retardation, lack of ability to study, fussiness or slowness, aggressiveness and distraction.
Reproductive age
Women, whose age is from 20 to 50 years, most often suffer from autoimmune diseases and hyperthyroidism. Hormonal failure provokes the appearance of symptoms such as excessive profusion of menstruation or their delay. As a rule, patients with chronic thyroid ailments suffer from infertility.
During pregnancy, the activity of the thyroid gland can greatly increase, which provokes the occurrence of thyrotoxicosis. A woman begins to feel weak, her heart rate quickens, her temperature rises. In parallel with this, hands begin to tremble, irritability and insomnia appear.
In some cases, it can be the other way around: a decrease in hormone production, the occurrence of hypothyroidism. The occurrence of such a pathology can indicate symptoms during pregnancy, such as joint pain, decreased pulse, muscle cramps, rapid weight gain, dry skin, and hair loss. Irritability and depression are also observed.
In addition, complications during childbirth can occur, as well as a high probability of having a baby with a defect such as mental retardation, physical underdevelopment, or deafness.
With menopause
During this period, there is a sharp decrease in the production of sex hormones in women, as well as changes in hormonal levels. A similar situation provokes diseases of the thyroid gland, which only exacerbates the symptoms of menopausal syndrome. These include anxiety, aggravation of pain in the joints, grouchy, trembling hands, cramps, brittle nails, baldness, the development of osteoporosis.
Diagnostics
The patient can independently detect some signs and symptoms of a particular thyroid disease. To clarify the assumption at home, you can use the method of measuring basal temperature. This method is very effective in case of hypothyroidism. Temperature is measured in the morning, and you cannot get out of bed. If for several days the temperature is below 36.3 degrees, then, subject to the presence of other signs, you should contact an endocrinologist, make an ultrasound of the thyroid gland, take the necessary tests to detect thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4).
For example, with Hashimoto’s disease, external manifestations may not be particularly pronounced, but the presence of this pathology will be indicated by the fact that the TSH index is significantly higher than normal, and the level of T4 and T3 is within the acceptable range. After an external examination, specialists usually prescribe an analysis to detect iodine and antibodies in the patient’s blood, biochemical tests of urine and blood to determine the state of metabolism. In parallel with this, X-ray, MRI and CT can be prescribed. A biopsy of the resulting suspicious nodes is also performed.
How to treat thyroid disease in women?
Signs of the presence of a particular thyroid pathology are a signal that you should contact a medical institution. The method of treatment will depend on the variety and severity of the symptoms that a woman has. Most often, medication is used to treat thyroid gland in women. An operation to remove the formed nodes may also be assigned.
And how to treat hypothyroidism if the first symptoms appear? Treatment of thyroid gland in women in this case will consist in the use of hormone therapy, that is, replenishment of iodothyrions with the help of special drugs. It is necessary to take them throughout life, because it is impossible to restore the production of these hormones with this pathology.
As for hyperthyroidism, statistical drugs are used in therapy that are able to suppress the production of thyroxine, as well as other hormones. As a rule, it takes about 2 years to eliminate the symptoms of this disease. The course of therapy is controlled by the method of blood tests.
In the case of the treatment of such diseases, cardiac preparations, vitamin complexes, and drugs that restore the state of the nervous system are additionally used. If goiter is formed, then treatment is carried out with the help of radioactive iodine, which can destroy compaction cells.
If the thyroid gland has significantly expanded, and the node prevents the woman from breathing and swallowing, as well as in the case of malignant tumors, surgery is performed in which the affected area or the entire organ is removed.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is worth noting that diseases and pathologies of the thyroid gland can be very dangerous for a woman if she does not turn in time for help to the clinic. To do this, you should be careful about your health, not ignore the appearance of any symptoms, lead a healthy lifestyle, eat right. Of course, some ailments can be inherited, so if someone in your family has suffered from a thyroid disease, it is recommended that you periodically check up for prevention purposes.