An introduction to Thyroiditis: All its types you need to know

Thyroiditis:

One of the most common health problems people all over the world face are thyroid issues. According to an article on Science Direct, 200 million people suffer some type of thyroid disorder. Generally, these issues are addressed under the medical terminology, thyroiditis.

Thyroiditis refers to the inflammation of the thyroid gland and inflammation is usually the result of swelling at the initial stages.

When the thyroid is inflamed or defected, it hinders the synthesis of two very important hormones, namely, thyroxine or tetraiodothyronine and triiodothyronine or T3.

These hormones generally control the metabolism of your body and are responsible for converting the food you eat into energy for daily functioning.

Some of the different types of thyroiditis that a person can suffer from are listed down below:

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis:

It is an autoimmune disorder where the defense mechanism of your body mistakenly attacks the thyroid gland and its cells. As a result, the gland becomes unable to produce thyroxin.

Subacute Thyroiditis:

Subacute thyroiditis is an acute disease of the thyroid gland caused by a virus. It is a painful condition which often leads to upper respiratory tract infections as well.

Acute Thyroiditis:

Different from subacute thyroiditis, it is usually the inflammation and impairment of the thyroid gland due to bacterial infection of the organ.

Post partum Thyroiditis:

Also known as silent or painless thyroiditis, occurs in women when their thyroid gland inflames after giving birth to a baby. It is rare and only affects a small ratio of women.

Drug induced Thyroiditis:

Some drugs that a person consumes can also stimulate inflammation of the thyroid gland as either a side effect of the drug or the immune response of the body. A few of these chemicals include, amiodarone and lithium while the immune response occurs because of interferons and cytokines.

Radiation induced thyroiditis:

Its is a painful type of thyroiditis as a result of radioactive therapy to treat hyperthyroidism (excess of thyroid hormone) head and neck cancer as well as lymphoma (a broad term for cancer of the lymph system).

These are the main types of thyroiditis a person may go through. They can be diagnosed via clinical testing and diagnosis and can be managed by taking medicines according to the prescription of your physician or endocrinologist.