Contents:
- Medical Video: 8 Serious Diseases Signaled by Our Skin
- Who is susceptible to this disease?
- 1. Vitiligo
- 2. Rheumatoid arthritis
- 3. Lupus
- What are some signs that someone has graves disease?
- How to treat this disease?
- Radioiodine therapy
- Use antithyroid drugs
- Thyroid surgery
Medical Video: 8 Serious Diseases Signaled by Our Skin
Graves disease is an immune system disorder that causes thyroid hormones to be produced excessively and eventually causes a disorder called hyperthyroidism. Although this disease sounds very foreign to the ear, anyone can actually experience it. So, who can get this disease? What symptoms and treatment can be done?
Who is susceptible to this disease?
According to the Graves Disease and Thyroid Foundation, about 2 to 3 percent of people have graves disease. Even so, there are also people who have not been diagnosed because they did not check their health condition.
Graves' disease is more common in women aged 20 to 40 years. But some people with other autoimmune diseases are also more susceptible to Graves' disease. Autoimmune diseases that can pose a risk of graves disease, namely:
1. Vitiligo
This is a skin condition that has white patches that can spread throughout the body, or only in certain body parts. This condition is caused by the destruction melanocytes in the skin, or cells responsible for the production of skin pigments.
2. Rheumatoid arthritis
This autoimmune disease usually attacks several joints of the body. This condition can also be characterized by swelling, pain and unable to move several joints of the body freely.
3. Lupus
Lupus is a condition in which the immune system starts attacking healthy cells. This is caused by the inability of the immune system to distinguish between good cells and bad cells that want to attack the body.
What are some signs that someone has graves disease?
The characteristics of this disease can be known by several body conditions such as the following:
- Hands and fingers often tremor
- Easy to feel hot and sweaty
- The weight dropped dramatically suddenly
- Enlargement of your thyroid gland (goiter)
- Menstruation is not smooth
- Erectile dysfunction or decreased libido
- Frequent bowel movements
- Eyes protrude and enlarge
- Fatigue
If you experience one or several of these symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor.
How to treat this disease?
There are several treatments for this disease, which focus on reducing the production of thyroid in the body. However, some treatments for grave disease can also cause certain cases. Here are some of the treatments:
Radioiodine therapy
This therapy uses iodine which is irradiated to kill abnormal cells in the thyroid gland. Although this treatment is most common, research shows that radioiodine therapy can pose a serious threat to patients. For women, this therapy can increase the chances of breast cancer.
Use antithyroid drugs
Antithyroid drugs work by blocking the excess iodine-producing thyroid gland. This drug is usually taken for a long time. Unfortunately, using antithyroid drugs can still make symptoms of this disease relapse later.
Thyroid surgery
This surgery will remove the entire thyroid gland to cut off your supply of thyroid hormones. Thyroid surgery is usually done when the patient still does not recover as well as the two previous treatments. However, this removal of the thyroid will later make the patient have to take artificial thyroid hormone pills forever.
