Goiter is Caused Mainly Due to Iodine Deficiency

Goiter is a thyroid disease which mainly occurs due to deficiency of iodine and also hormonal imbalance in the body. There are no symptoms as such.

Goiter is a type of disease in which the thyroid gland of the individual swells and as a result, it also causes the swelling in the neck and the larynx or the voice box. The thyroid increases in size which is medically termed as thyromegaly. If one gets affected with this disease, his thyroid gland does not function properly. According to the survey of the World Health Organization, more than ninety percent of goiter cases are reported due to deficiency of iodine. If explained simply, the thyroid hormone levels are either excessive or too low. If you look at the structure of the thyroid gland, it resembles the shape of a butterfly and is situated towards the base of the neck just below the Adam’s apple. The patient suffering from this disease does not have any pain but if the size of the glands increases too much, he might face problems in swallowing anything or can also start coughing. The disease is defined in the Med lexicon’s medical dictionary as ‘A chronic enlargement of the thyroid gland, not due to a neoplasm, occurring endemically in certain localities, especially regions where glaciations occurred and the soil is low in iodine, and sporadically elsewhere.’ Iodine is a basic component which is commonly found in the calcium bicarbonate or salt. So when you are preparing the always check whether the salt contains iodine or not before adding it. There may be some other factors such as hormonal imbalance.

If the person feels something suspicious about his health, it is generally regarded as symptom while the sign is something which is detected by the daughter. As far as this disease is concerned, it does not have any symptom as such. But the signs can be detected when the swelling of the neck starts. A lump may be noticed in the throat. The swelling is visible clearly and the patient just becomes aware of it. The disease can be classified into two types- Diffuse small goiter in which there is complete swelling in the thyroid gland and Nodular Goiter in which in swelling occurs only in certain parts. On the other hand the so called symptoms are hoariness of the voice, frequent coughing, uneasiness in the throat, swallowing problems and difficulty in breathing.

Hyperthyroidism is also referred to as overactive thyroid occurs when the thyroid hormone increases in the level of the blood. The gland starts producing excessive hormones. The common symptoms of this disease are increase in the heartbeat, hyperactivity, weakness of the muscles, weight loss and rise in the hunger or appetite. The signs are swelling of neck and increase in the thyroid, decline in the concentration, diarrhea, respiratory problems, difficulty in the sleeping, you sweat very much, feeling the exhaustion, oversensitivity to heat, frequent urination, infertility in the women, itching or irritability, loosing of the nails, lost in the pleasure of sex, weakening of the muscles, loss of hairs, increase or decrease in the weight, shaking of hands and many others. If the person is diabetic, he may have to deal with heightened diabetes such as tiredness and increase of thirst. The risks related to heart also increases such as of arrhythmia, heart failure, and other cardiovascular risks.