Thyroid disease is seldom seen today, but thirty years ago it was a common sight to
see large neck goitres. Medical research found that iodine was lacking in the soil in regions where thyroid disease was prevalent and the addition of iodine to table salt in these regions, resulted in a sharp drop in disease of this gland. Few people realize the importance of the commonplace box of iodized table salt, but this discovery has benefited thousands of people. The diseases of the thyroid encountered today are most frequently seen in the over-fifty age group.
Enlargement of the Thyroid Gland {Goitre). Any enlargement of the thyroid gland is significant because this gland embraces the windpipe and is firmly attached to it. The enlargement may compress the windpipe to create difficulty in breathing and sometimes in swallowing. A smooth balloon-like enlargement, usually in young women in otherwise perfect health, is the “colloid” goitre, which results from insufficient iodine in the diet. Medical treatment, in the form of iodine therapy, is usually followed by a reduction in the size of the thyroid gland.
A bumpy, nodular grape-like enlargement is a goitre, possibly of the over-functioning type. These thyroids are very likely to create considerable systemic difficulty in the present or future, and therefore, are candidates for medical or surgical treatment. Cancer of the thyroid gland, usually felt as a single bump or nodule, is not common, but any solitary lump felt in the thyroid region, demands the examination and diagnosis of a doctor skilled in this field, as treatment may be necessary quickly.
Over-Active Thyroid (hyperthyroidism). Thyroid over-activity is often the cause of nervousness and weight loss. The gland is not necessarily enlarged but it produces definite symptoms of over-activity, such as, loss of weight, extreme nervousness, tremors of the fingers, excessive perspiration and palpitation of the heart. Over-activity of the thyroid may be treated either by medication, surgery, or x-ray. It is only after adequate examination that the course of best treatment can be known.
Under-Active Thyroid (hypothyroidism). A thyroid gland with too feeble a function is soon reflected throughout the body in several ways. There is a weight gain without any apparent over-eating, long sleep with persistent fatigue and often a dry skin with dull unmanageable hair.
The thyroid gland is the fire-and-ambition gland of the body, and without it nearly all drive is lost. Treatment of an under-active thyroid is simple. It is thyroid hormone, taken orally, under the guidance of the physician for the cure of this health and ambition stealing disease.