As the world marked World Iodine Day in October, a Kericho medic has urged residents to seek early thyroid gland screening to detect symptoms before goiter develops, amid rising cases in the county.
The thyroid gland is a small butterfly shaped gland located in the neck just below the Adam’s apple and it is an essential organ for the production of thyroid hormones and controls many vital functions of the body.
In an interview with KNA a resident surgeon at AIC Litein Kericho Annex clinic, Dr. Philip Blasto advised residents to ensure adequate iodine intake as well as have regular thyroid check-ups especially if one has a family history to avoid developing goiter.
He explained that when the thyroid gland does not get enough iodine, it fails to produce hormones which control many vital functions of the body such metabolism, growth, heart rate, body temperature, moods and fertility leading to the enlargement of the gland known as goiter.
“Iodine deficiency is more likely to cause hypothyroidism and this is when the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones whose symptom is exhibited with an enlarged goiter.” noted Dr. Blasto.
Dr Blasto revealed that the classical symptoms of a patient with low levels of thyroid hormone as fatigue, eyes bulging out, weight gain, cold sensitivity, changes in moods, hair loss, dry skin and swelling on their neck area with a patient experiencing difficulty in swallowing.
He expressed concern that the hospital was encountering about 40 to 50 goiter patients in a week while 15 were new cases and majority being women. While in the same breath he revealed that around 12 to 18 goiter patients underwent surgery every month, highlighting the disease alarming prevalence in the area.
“We have clinics twice in every week and here we see around 40 to 50 patients goiter patients with 15 being new cases. We do 12 to 18 surgeries for patients with goiter cases in a month. Around 80 per cent of goiter cases are women.
Those we operate on is because the goiter is large and causes breathing or swallowing difficulties or it causes hyperthyroidism that is hard to control. “Said Dr. Blasto.
The surgeon further added that there was a sub-set of patients who suffered from hyperthyroidism which is caused by an overactive thyroid gland noting that the symptoms notably weight loss, anxiety and heat intolerance but were not easily detected as they developed gradually and this was not common in the area.
Dr. Blasto stressed when goiter is diagnosed early enough it will help boost chances of effective treatment and management of the patient.
“Hypothyroidism is more clinically evident than hyperthyroidism. A thyroid function test is used to test for hypothyroidism. This test checks on the thyroid hormone levels as to whether they are high or low. Also, an ultra sound scan is conducted to reveal the size of enlargement of the thyroid glands.
These tests determine whether a patient will be put on medications such as levothyroxine to alleviate the symptoms or to normalize thyroid hormone levels before considering surgery. Patients who undergo surgery is when their goiter is found to be large and causes breathing or swallowing difficulties or when the goiter fails to respond to medications or has been found to be cancerous.
These patients who have their right and left thyroid glands removed are put on medications for the rest of their lives. “he added.
He recommended residents to always use iodized salt and seek regular thyroid check-ups to help detect any thyroid issues early as this allows for prompt treatment and prevention of complications.
By Sarah Njagi
