Goitre

Goitre is enlargement of a gland at the lower front of the neck. That gland is the thyroid.

Several factors cause it: too little iodine in the diet, a genetic tendency, and environmental and personal factors. In Türkiye, lack of iodine is the most important cause.

What the thyroid does

The thyroid is a gland that releases hormone. The hormone it mainly produces is thyroid hormone, or more precisely thyroxine. By releasing more or less of it, the gland affects the rhythm of the body. In a sense it is the whip of the body.

Too much thyroid hormone is called hyperthyroidism or thyrotoxicosis. Hyperthyroidism is the clinical picture caused by the gland working too hard and releasing too much hormone. Thyrotoxicosis is a high level of hormone in the blood from other causes, such as taking too much thyroid hormone, or a sudden release of a large amount of stored hormone into the blood, as happens in thyroiditis.

An overactive thyroid

• Being very irritable
• Trembling
• Losing weight
• Light or short periods
• Palpitations and a faster heart rate
• More frequent bowel movements
• Weakness and a feeling of exhaustion

An underactive thyroid

Everything in the body slows down:

• Constipation
• Weight gain
• Moving slowly
• Thinking slowly
• Feeling cold
• Heavy periods
• Dry skin
• Hair loss
• Weakness and a lack of energy

The two tests

Hormone levels in the blood. T3, T4 and TSH are measured. T3 and T4 are the hormones the thyroid releases. TSH is the hormone that drives the gland. TSH rises when the thyroid works too little and falls when it works too much.

Ultrasound. A very useful method that does the patient no harm. It measures the structure of the gland, its content, its relationship with neighbouring organs and its blood flow, to fine detail.

Treatment

• Medicines
• Radioactive treatment
• Surgery

These are combined where a combination is needed.