What are the symptoms of hypothyroidism

Common symptoms of hypothyroidism may include cretinism, such as pale, thickened, and wrinkled skin, umbilical hernia, or a slow heart rate. Adults may also experience slow movements, lethargy, and drowsiness.

1. Cretinism

The clinical manifestations of cretinism have common characteristics as well as characteristics of various types. There are often no specific manifestations at birth, but symptoms appear within a few weeks after birth. Common manifestations include pale, thickened, wrinkled, and scaly skin. The lips are thick, the tongue is large and often protrudes outward, the mouth is often open and drools a lot, the appearance is ugly, the face is pale or sallow, the nose is short and upturned, the nose bridge is sunken, the forehead is wrinkled, the stature is short, the limbs are thick and short, the hands are often shovel-shaped, umbilical hernia is common, the heart rate is slow, the body temperature is low, and their growth and development are lower than those of the same age. When they grow up, they are often dwarfs.

2. Juvenile myxedema

The clinical manifestations of juvenile myxedema vary with the age of onset. Except for the physical retardation and facial changes in young children, which are not as obvious as those in cretinism, the rest of the symptoms are similar to those of cretinism. In older children and adolescents, the disease is similar to adult myxedema, but with varying degrees of growth retardation and delayed puberty.

3. Myxedema in adults

Adult myxedema is most common in people aged 40 to 60 years old, with a male to female ratio of 1:4.5. The onset is insidious and the course of the disease progresses slowly, and it may take more than ten years before obvious symptoms of myxedema appear. For those with unknown causes, the lesions are mostly complete; for those with secondary causes, the lesions are mostly incomplete, and some patients can still recover (such as those caused by overdose of hyperthyroidism medication). For those who develop the disease due to surgery or radiotherapy, the onset is not very insidious. Early symptoms begin from the 4th week, and typical symptoms often appear after the 8th week. The earliest symptoms of myxedema are decreased sweating, fear of cold, slow movements, mental sluggishness, fatigue, drowsiness, intellectual impairment, poor appetite, weight gain, and constipation. When typical symptoms occur, they include: