The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located in front of the neck. Its primary role is to regulate life-sustaining metabolism by producing thyroid hormones through iodine extracted from blood. The process helps your body break down food and convert it into energy, influencing your overall health. The thyroid glands directly affect the body’s ability to digest food and derive energy at different rates. This gland is responsible for people having a fast or slow metabolism. Exploring the lines of thyroid disease: causes, symptoms, and types, the following are the common types of thyroid diseases: Hypothyroidism When your thyroid gland doesn’t produce sufficient thyroid hormone, its hypothyroidism. In this case, you may experience sluggishness, be overly sensitive to cold, and lose appetite. It can slow down your metabolism rate and is hard to notice initially. The condition results from problems developed within the thyroid gland, the pituitary gland, or the hypothalamus. Hypothyroidism is very common among women. The symptoms include: Fatigue Poor concentration Feeling mentally sluggish or being depressed Fluid retention Dry skin Feeling cold Muscle and joint aches Constipation Prolonged or excessive menstrual bleeding The common causes of hypothyroidism include: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis where the thyroid gland is gradually destroyed Surgical removal of a part of or the entire thyroid gland Certain medications taken to treat bipolar disorder or diabetes Excessive or insufficient iodine consumption Radioactive iodine treatment Pituitary gland damage Radiation therapy for certain cancers Damaged or absence of thyroid gland Turner syndrome (affecting only females) Hyperthyroidism Checking thyroid disease and its causes, symptoms, and types, hyperthyroidism is a condition where there is excessive production of thyroid hormone.

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that affects your melanocytes. These are cells that produce color which defines your hair, skin, and eyes. Melanoma mostly occurs on the skin and rarely on the mouth, intestines, and eyes. Since melanoma is a skin cancer, it is quite easy to recognize and detect the presence of a tumor early. You should always get abnormal moles and marks checked. Early symptoms of melanoma The first appearance of melanoma is just a fresh new spot on your skin or the change in size and shape of an already existing mark. Follow the ABCDE rule to notice symptoms of melanoma. A – Asymmetry: The mark is not of perfect shape. It has a weird or abnormal size or shape. B – Border : The border of the mark is extremely noticeable because it’s jagged, irregular, or notched. C – Color : The color of the mark is not constant throughout. It has a shading effect on it or it is way too dark. It may also occur with patches of red, white, pink or blue marks. D – Diameter : The spot is extremely large at the size of an eraser. It may have a diameter of about six millimeters.

Thyroid cancer can be easily prevented by possessing a good knowledge of the early signs and symptoms from an abnormal thyroid. There are other preventive measures for thyroid cancer that can be taken apart from diet and also assessing thyroid hormone levels in the blood through regular checkups. Other preventative measures apart from diet Protection of the gland from radiation The thyroid gland when exposed to strong radiation, like working on a nuclear plant or handling radioactive substances, reacts abnormally; protective clothing for the entire body, especially around the neck is greatly emphasized. Also, a thyroid collar should be provided during scans or X-rays that require a high level of radiation. Perchlorates These used in water are found to greatly impact the thyroid. These are salts that are manufactured for explosives and fireworks and dissolved in water bodies. A person who is exposed to contaminated water with perchlorates for a significant period of time can have an abnormal trigger in the gland. Screening with a strong family history RET genetic screening is the most common method to screen genetic carriers when a person has a strong family history of thyroid cancer. This helps in detecting the malignancy at an early stage and initiating treatments for complete cure.

Cancer that begins in tubules of the kidney is called kidney cancer. This gradually spreads to the entire organ, nearby lymph nodes, blood tissues, and nearby organs, causing the body to start malfunctioning as it the cancerous cells crowd out the healthy cells and prevent healthy tissue formation. Renal cancer is a very common type of cancer. Symptoms for this condition do not show up in the beginning, making diagnosing its stages and determining treatment procedures difficult later on. If the symptoms are prominent, one will be asked to undergo a series of tests to confirm the presence of the tumor. Diagnosis of kidney cancer There are various tests doctors prescribe to help diagnose the stage of cancer. This then determines the treatment procedure that will be opted for. Physical exam and history: A physical exam is used to feel the presence of lumps, inflammation, or check for other abnormal appearances. The doctor will also ask you to explain more about your family’s health history, habits, your medical history, and treatments that were taken earlier. Ultrasound scan: Images of kidneys and other abdominal organs are taken with the help of high energy sound waves called ultrasound. This is done to look for lumps or other abnormalities present in them.

Aggressive growth of cancer cells inside or around the mouth area is called oral cancer. There are several risk factors associated with oral cancer. Chewing and smoking tobacco and excessive alcohol consumption is the main cause of it. Individuals infected with oral cancer are put through a series of test to diagnose the stage of cancer and further treatment methods for oral cancer is determined based on the diagnosis. Stages of oral cancer Oral cancer is categorized into four stages, and they are as follows: Stage 1 It is the beginning stage of oral cancer where the tumor measures 2 cms or less. In this stage the lymph nodes are safe. Stage 2: Cancer at this stage is restricted to the top layer and hasn’t moved to lymph nodes. The size of the tumor grows between 2 and 4 cms. Stage 3 At this stage, there are possibilities of one or two lymph nodes being affected. The tumor size may become larger than 4 cms or may remain small while the infection has spread to lymph nodes. Stage 4: Tumours may grow big or may retain the same size by infecting the nearby tissues, lymph nodes, and other organs. The survival rate of oral cancer is roughly 5 years once diagnosed.

The right mattress is important to get good sleep at night and wake up refreshed the next morning. However, the right mattress is much more important if you experience low back, hip, or shoulder pain as you need adequate support to ensure that the pain does not worsen or become chronic in nature. When you are out with the aim of choosing the right mattress for back pain, there are many things to keep in mind while selecting a mattress to purchase. This article lists out some tips that will help you find the best mattress to help reduce and manage back pain: 1. Personal preference matters While choosing the right mattress for back pain, the most important thing to keep in mind is your personal preference. What is good for one person may not be good for another, so don’t buy a mattress just because it was good for your friend. Your personal choice is the best decider for the type of mattress that suits you. 2. Choose the correct level of firmness Traditionally, doctors prescribe a firm mattress that provides proper back support, but many people find a soft mattress that is easy on the back more comfortable.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer affecting millions of women worldwide. There is a range of risk factors involved and various symptoms experienced in different types of breast cancer. Continuing on the treatments available to treat breast cancer, this article provides a descriptive outlook on some newer options. Hormone therapy Known as hormone-blocking therapy, the treatment is used to treat breast cancers sensitive to hormones. The treatment prevents estrogen or progesterone from encouraging the growth of breast cancer cells. The therapy is performed before or after surgery or even after other treatments to prevent cancer from recurring. In case the cancer has spread, this therapy will shrink and control the growth. Hormone therapy encourages side effects like hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and night sweats. Serious and very rare side effects include bone thinning and blood clots. Targeted therapy A prime method among the common treatments for breast cancer, targeted therapy involves medication treatments to induce the immune system to destroy cancer cells. A protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 enhances the growth of breast cancer cells. Hence, this method targets these cells and damages them. Cancer cells are tested before the therapy to determine if it is beneficial for you.

Hepatitis is a health condition that causes inflammation in the liver. It is a highly contagious condition that could lead to serious health problems like liver cancer. This inflammatory condition can have a huge impact on the quality of life and overall health. It adversely affects the major functionalities of the liver. In a few cases, it could lead to chronic illness or life-threatening diseases. The hepatitis virus may spread from exposure to contaminated bodily fluids, water, food or organ transplants, sexual contact, etc. In general, there are five common types of hepatitis. The severity of the symptoms and the duration of the recovery period for all these types of hepatitis tend to vary from each other. Mentioned below are the most common types of hepatitis that you should know about. Hepatitis A Preventable by a vaccine, hepatitis A is one of the most common types of hepatitis. It is also referred to as HAV. Hepatitis A is a highly contagious infection that occurs in the liver. The severity of the illness tends to vary from person to person, depending on their overall health and the seriousness of the infection. In the majority of cases, this infection lasts for a couple of weeks before the person makes a full recovery.

All the deep vein thrombosis early warning symptoms can help in identifying this disease at an early stage. The article discusses about deep vein thrombosis (DVT) explaining the risk factors that can lead to the disease. How does DVT develop? Blood keeps flowing in the body. Sometimes the blood flow may become stagnant leading to the formation of a clot. Clots form regularly in the body but are microscopic and can be broken down by the body. The problem is when the clot is a big one. In DVT, a clot forms in a vein usually deep in the leg and sometimes in the arm or other places. The clot can prevent the normal flow of blood. The clot can lead to pain, swelling, and other symptoms. Sometimes, the clot may break loose in the vein and move to the lungs, where it can block a pulmonary artery. This is known as pulmonary embolism and can cause serious problems. Being warned Knowing about deep vein thrombosis early warning symptoms can help in identifying DVT at an early stage so that treatment can be taken. If not treated, it can progress to a pulmonary embolism that can even be fatal. There are seven early warning signs of DVT.

The five early signs of rheumatoid arthritis mentioned in this article are those that are common in people who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. These early signs are an indication to visit the doctor. Joint stiffness One of the most common early signs of rheumatoid arthritis is stiffness in the joints. This is by far one of the common symptoms in the joints, which indicates that you could have rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It is common to experience this stiffness first thing in the morning. When you get up after the night’s sleep, you could experience stiffness in the joints of the hands, knees, ankles, and feet. This stiffness may last for a few minutes or for a longer time. If you observe this sign on more than one day and there is no injury or any other apparent cause, it’s best to immediately meet a doctor and ask him if you are suffering from RA. Joint pain Pain in the joints is another common sign of RA. Along with stiffness, you could also experience pain. Since RA is in the initial stage, the pain may be mild, which is why people tend to ignore the pain. The pain can affect any of the joints and may occur on either side of the body.