Download 3.16 Thyroid info

Thyroid Hormone Fact Sheet
Your thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in your neck, just above your collarbone. It is one
of your endocrine glands, which make hormones. Thyroid hormones control the rate of
many activities in your body. These include how fast you burn calories and how fast your
heart beats. All of these activities are your body's metabolism.
If your thyroid gland is not active enough, it is called hypothyroidism. It can make you gain
weight, feel fatigued, and have difficulty dealing with cold temperatures.
If your thyroid is too active, it makes more thyroid hormones than your body needs. That
condition is called hyperthyroidism. Too much thyroid hormone can make you lose weight,
speed up your heart rate, and make you very sensitive to heat.
There are many causes for both conditions. Treatment involves trying to reset your body's
metabolism to a normal rate. The thyroid gland can also develop cancer.
Thyroxine, T4, one of the two major hormones secreted by the thyroid gland. Thyroxine’s
principal function is to stimulate the consumption of oxygen and thus the metabolism of
all cells and tissues in the body. Excessive secretion of thyroxine in the body is known
as hyperthyroidism, and the deficient secretion of it is called hypothyroidism.
Hypothyroidism is the name given when the thyroid gland is underactive and produces
fewer hormones. This affects as many as 2 in 100 females but only 2 in 1,000 males.
Hypothyroidism results in a general slowing down both physically and mentally.
Symptoms of hypothyroidism:
There are many symptoms associated with hypothyroidism. Some of the common ones are
listed below, but different features may be more prominent in some patients compared to
others:
General tiredness
Difficulty concentrating
Weight gain
Dislike of cold weather
Muscle weakness (cramps and aches)
Bloated tissue – puffy face, bags under eyes, hoarse voice
Dry skin, thin hair
Heavy periods
Slow pulse
Hyperthyroidism, also called thyrotoxicosis, results from the excess production of thyroid
hormone by the thyroid gland. Most patients with hyperthyroidism have an enlarged
thyroid gland (goitre), but the characteristics of the enlargement vary. Hyperthyroidism
occurs more often in adults than in children, and it is 5 to 10 times more common in
women than in men