The thyroid is a small gland but it can cause quite a few problems if it doesn’t work regularly. It is good to pay attention to the signals that our body sends, starting with some possible disorders that may affect the skin.
We often hear about people suffering from thyroid problems, but many tend to underestimate them thinking that they are minor ailments, capable of not affecting everyday life too much. This does not correspond to reality, on the contrary, although it is a small gland located in the front part of the neck, it plays a decisive role in many functions performed by our body. Its task is in fact to produce a particular type of hormones, precisely called thyroid hormones.
Thanks to the work of this part of our body, in fact, not only is body growth favored, body temperature is regulated and the correct development of the nervous system is allowed, but the cardiovascular system and the basal metabolic rate are able to function correctly. and even sleep turns out to be regular. Despite all these benefits, it should be emphasized that very often the gland fails to work properly. It is mainly women who have problems, 5 to 10 times more frequently than men.
The thyroid is an important organ: what you need to pay attention to
In Italy there are over six million people who have thyroid problems and are of all ages. It is, in fact, a fundamental organ for growth, the first disturbances of which can already occur at birth. It is no coincidence that after the birth, screening for hypothyroidism is carried out, in order to arrive at a diagnosis quickly and be able to immediately start any therapy.
Very often symptoms such as anxiety, irritability and insomnia can be traced back to a malfunction of this organespecially hypothyroidism. These are obviously also attributable to other types of disturbances, precisely for this reason a targeted blood test allows you to rule out a possible involvement.
Generally there are two problems that can be encountered:
- hypothyroidismoccurs when the thyroid works too little, among the first signs of malaise there is tiredness;
- hyperthyroidismthe thyroid is overstimulated, which is why it produces an excessive amount of thyroid hormones, among the signs that should not be underestimated are tremors, nervousness and tachycardia.
These diseases are called thyroiditis, being associated with this part of the body. Among the best known and most widespread is the Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. We are talking about an autoimmune disease in which the immune system does not work properly and destroys healthy tissue, therefore the thyroid gland, thinking that they are foreign. This can often be associated with other autoimmune disorders, such as vitiligo, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and celiac disease.
Very often the doctor invites you to take a blood test to check the progress of the thyroid gland when he notices abnormal weight loss or weight gain it’s fast. However, there are other alarm bells that are to be linked to a malfunction of the gland that should not be underestimated, despite the fact that they are evident above all on an aesthetic level and concern the skin. Here’s what it is:
- excessively dry skin, especially on the arms and legs;
- appearance of pimples on the chin;
- itchy skin;
- hives (red colored rash).
What to do? The first step to take is to eliminate gluten from the diet, supplementing at the same time with selenium and zinc. All that remains is to wait to see if the situation improves, alternatively a check by an endocrinologist may only be necessary.