Women are More Vulnerable to Thyroid Disorders
Category : Women Health
While it may not be a special concern of people today, some disorders in thyroid glands when left unchecked can lead to chronic complications, especially to women.
The thyroid gland is located in front of the neck; with the shape resembling butterfly, the gland is often easy to touch. The function of this gland is to produce thyroid hormones that stimulate the metabolism of cells in the body.
Compared to men, women have 5 to 8 times bigger chances of having thyroid dysfunction. Because at certain phases in life, women experience the lack of thyroid hormones which makes them need more intake of iodine. Such as in when having menstrual cycles, experiencing pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, women actually need more iodine but mostly fail to realize this need, because the signs of thyroid deficiency (hypothyroid) are often mistaken as parts of pregnancy symptoms, like weakness, lethargy, difficult to think, and willing to sleep all day.
Not only pregnant women, thyroid deficiency also affects the fetus. Babies who are born with hypothyroid could experience problems with brain development and permanent growth problem, especially if the condition is treated too late.
To prevent the condition, women are suggested to perform thyroid screening to monitor the level of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) through blood tests. Low TSH suggests that you are closer to hyperthyroidism, and have too much thyroid hormone circulating; while high TSH suggests that you are closer to hypothyroidism (underactive) or having less thyroid hormone circulating.
Thyroid hormone drugs such as Sunthroid, Levoxyl, Armour, Thyrolar, etc are normally given to those who experience hypothyroid to make the hormone reach the normal level.
Currently, about 300 million people in the world experiencing thyroid gland malfunctions and more than half are unaware of their condition. Regarding the disease, The International Thyroid Day is commemorated every May 25th to raise awareness and promotes the importance of maintaining healthy thyroid gland.
Women find:
Women are More Vulnerable to Thyroid Disorders posted under Women Health. Follow any responses to this entry when people search for: deficiency, high tsh, hypothyroid, iodine, low tsh, thyroid glands, thyroid hormones, thyroid screening.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
