Hypothyroidism & Hyperthyroidism

As we introduced hypothyroidism in our last post, what that really entails is an under-active thyroid gland. If this is the case, the thyroid gland grows into a large physical size and this is called a goiter. Goiters can also be caused by a lack of iodine, of which the thyroid gland needs in order to function properly. There has been cases of cabbage goiters too.

Cretinism is whereby an under-active thyroid gland in children can affect the brain too.

Now we take a look at hyperthyroidism. This, by the hyper- term, you can tell that it works the opposite way as hypothyroidism. Hyperthyroidism can cause the following:

• anxiety
• nervousness
• rapid pulse
• fatigue
• weight-loss (Graves disease, protruding eyes)

Treatment of hyperthyroidism is rather simple. You want to block the formation of the thyroid hormone, or in the case of too much iodine, you could use radioactive iodine (I-131) to permanently destroy iodine. In other cases, surgery might be the solution. I hope that isn't the case for anyone who suffers from this!