Causes and symptoms of subacute thyroiditis

Subacute thyroiditis is quite harmful to the body, because the thyroid gland is very important in protecting the body. If the thyroid gland becomes inflamed, it will cause harm to the body. Therefore, many patients with subacute thyroiditis want to understand its causes and manifestations in order to recover as soon as possible. In order for you to understand it as soon as possible, let's take a look at the introduction below.

Causes

It has not yet been fully elucidated, but is generally believed to be related to viral infection. The evidence is:

1. Patients often have a history of upper respiratory tract infection before the onset of the disease. The onset of the disease often varies with the seasons and has a certain epidemic nature.

2. Viral antibodies are present in the patient's blood (the titer of the antibody is consistent with the stage of the disease). The most common ones are Coxsackie virus antibodies, followed by adenovirus antibodies, influenza virus antibodies, mumps virus antibodies, etc. Although there have been reports of mumps virus being isolated from thyroid tissue of patients with subacute thyroiditis, conclusive evidence that the cause of subacute thyroiditis is a virus has not been found.

In addition, subacute thyroiditis in Chinese and Japanese is associated with HLA-Bw35, suggesting that susceptibility to viral infection has a genetic factor, but there are also patients who are not associated with the above HLA-Bw35.

Clinical manifestations

1. The patient will feel general discomfort and have a high fever, with the body temperature reaching over 39 degrees Celsius.

2. A lump appears in the anterior thyroid area of ​​the patient's neck.

3. The patient will find that the skin at the site of the lump and around the lump has symptoms of heat and redness, and the lump will fluctuate.

4. The patient will have obvious severe pain in the neck and will not dare to touch it.

This disease is more common in women. The onset can be acute or slow, and the course of the disease varies. It can last from several weeks to several months, or up to 1 to 2 years, and relapses are common. Because the course of the disease for most patients is generally 2 to 5 months, it is called subacute thyroiditis. There is often a history of upper respiratory tract infection or mumps before the onset of this disease. At the beginning of the disease, there are often sore throat, headache, fever (38-39℃), chills, shivering, general fatigue, sweating, and may be accompanied by symptoms of hyperthyroidism, such as palpitations, shortness of breath, irritability, increased appetite, tremors, and increased bowel movements. The goiter may be unilateral or bilateral, diffuse or nodular, usually without redness or swelling, but with tenderness. The pain may be dull or severe, and may radiate to the mandible, behind the ears, behind the neck, or arms. The tenderness is obvious, so the patient refuses to press. A small number of patients may also experience loss of appetite, hoarseness, and a feeling of pressure in the neck. The heart rate increases in the early stage and becomes normal in the later stage. Relapsing patients may experience recurrence of symptoms and signs 1 to 2 months after stopping medication, but these symptoms may be milder than before.

The above is a comprehensive introduction to the causes and manifestations of subacute thyroiditis. For many patients with this disease, they must not ignore the harm of this disease. They must have a comprehensive understanding of the above content, and then conduct a comprehensive examination and careful treatment. In this way, they can cure the disease as soon as possible and keep themselves healthy.