"Our gas pedal": A problem with this organ affects every cell in the body

The thyroid gland does not get much attention, but the truth is that it is responsible for a lot of things in our body - and when it does not function well, it can not be missed.

Here's everything you need to know about thyroid disease

Iris Cole

27/05/2022

Friday, 27 May 2022, 08:34 Updated: 08:53

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A small gland located in the front of our neck may be what is behind symptoms like fatigue, unexplained weight gain or loss, sleep disorders and more.

Dr. Nadal Mohana, director of the Department of Otolaryngology, Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at Ichilov Hospital, was a guest on the "Specialist Clinic" podcast to explain how thyroid problems are diagnosed and treated.

"The thyroid gland is a small gland that is in the front of the neck, it is in the shape of a butterfly, and it is usually not felt, as long as it is not enlarged or has no connective tissue," explained Dr. Mohana. Substances within the cells.

"Every cell in the body needs the hormone that the thyroid gland secretes, and any disturbance in its activity - overactivity or underactivity - affects the body, it has no small effect on the body's function."

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Overactivity of the thyroid gland is manifested in sweating, diarrhea, palpitations and more, and underactivity is manifested in weakness, fatigue, hair loss, and sometimes depression.

"Every cell in the body needs this hormone, it's like a gas pedal for us - it activates the cells inside the body, it is responsible for regulating metabolism within the body."

Excessive or underactive activity is called thyroid functional problems, but there are also structural disorders in the gland - such as benign or malignant tumors in the thyroid gland.

Most of these tumors are not felt, until a routine ultrasound examination is done because of pain in the front of the neck or discomfort, and then the clarification begins as to what the lump is and whether it should be removed.

How is thyroid cancer diagnosed?

"The management of a case of a lump within the thyroid gland, begins with a physical examination of the neck - manually. As long as the lump does not reach a size of 1.5-2 cm it can not be felt, and if a lump is realized, it is a sign that it has reached this size," explained D. "R. Mohana," then proceed to an ultrasound that examines the size of the lump, its shape, whether it involves other organs in the neck, and whether there are lymph nodes involved in this lump.

The ultrasound helps to understand how suspicious the lump in the gland is.

Neck ultrasound (Photo: ShutterStock)

Dr. Mohana explained that even if a cancerous lump is diagnosed, the entire thyroid gland must not be removed. If the lump is up to 4 cm in size and is only on one side of the gland, only one side is removed, and the other side compensates for the missing side of the other side.

"If the whole gland is found, one should give hormone replacement therapy, like altruxin, one pill once a day, in the morning."

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It is important to note that thyroid cancer is not similar to many other cancers.

It is usually not life-threatening, and can be effectively controlled by surgery to remove the thyroid gland (all or half of it), followed by radioactive iodine treatment as needed.

Most important: Balance hormone levels

Because the thyroid gland is so vital to our body's function, hormone replacement therapy is necessary in cases where there is no thyroid gland or its function is impaired.

"One should always balance this hormone, and make sure the body gets enough hormone from the outside," Dr. Mohana explained.

To watch the full interview:

Dr. Nadal Mohana explains how thyroid diseases are diagnosed - and how they are treated (Walla system!)

Even in cases where there is a lack of activity, give the same hormone that is obtained after resection, and monitor until the body reaches balance.

If the gland is more active, the balance is more difficult, a hormone should be given that suppresses the activity of the gland, and is not always successful.

"Sometimes surgery is performed to resect the gland due to overactivity, if you are unable to control its activity," said Dr. Mohana. "

In each case, you usually need lifelong monitoring and balance." "Life," said Dr. Mohana, adding that "it should be remembered that in cases of thyroid tumor, even if it is malignant, the survival of patients is very good and the quality of life is almost not impaired, and if there is a hormonal or functional problem - it can be balanced and treated." .

• health

Tags

• Thyroid

• cancer

• Altruxin