Thyroid dysfunction has a negative effect on all internal organs and body systems. The difficulty in diagnosing this disease is that the symptoms of hypothyroidism are quite imperceptible.
However, the appearance of swelling of different parts of the body is a fairly frequent phenomenon in chronic hormonal imbalance. This complication is associated with a slowdown in metabolic processes, so treatment of the disease should be comprehensive and timely.
The nature of the onset of edema
Insufficient production of thyroid hormones leads to various metabolic disturbances:
- Intercellular metabolism of substances slows down;
- Cholesterol accumulates in the vessels;
- The permeability of capillaries and knots increases;
- A fluid outflow occurs.
The low activity of enzymes leads to the fact that the cells of the organs begin to lose oxygen, as a result, protein synthesis is less active. Decomposition products accumulate in the intercellular space, and edema begins to form in the tissues. Quite often this phenomenon can be observed in the face, hands and feet.
At the time of edema formation in the mucous membranes, various substances are deposited, the same process occurs in all layers of the skin. A large accumulation of fluids increases the osmotic pressure and changes the properties of the connective tissue.
Characteristics of edema
The swelling that occurs with hypothyroidism is quite different. First of all, they differ in their properties and localization. If patients with a violation of the cardiovascular system are most often concerned with edema in the leg area, and if they develop kidney disease on the face, hypothyroidism can be observed everywhere.
At the initial stage of hormonal imbalance, the visible symptoms are rather weak. The appearance of some swelling of the face and narrowing of the eye is often attributed to a set of excess weight. The course of this process is very slow, so the patient does not immediately understand that the reason lies in a more serious disease. The dynamics of changes can be visually demonstrated only by the photo taken before the beginning of the treatment of the disease.
Swelling in hypothyroidism has a dough-like structure, the skin in these places is cold and pale. If you press on the edema with your finger, in some neglected cases, a temporary fossa can form on the skin. In medical terminology, this phenomenon is called pastoznost.
In addition to the surface phenomenon in hypothyroidism, the swelling of the internal organs occurs, therefore the diagnosis and treatment of the disease should occur as soon as possible.
Finding causes and methods of treatment
A patient who has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism will need a lot of patience, as the process of restoring hormonal imbalance involves the sharing of various therapeutic interventions. When solving the problem of puffiness, it is necessary first of all to establish what caused the disturbance. Only after the true cause of the failure of the hormonal background is established and the doctor prescribes therapeutic treatment, one can count on the fact that the metabolic processes in the tissues will recover and the phenomenon of puffiness will disappear. An integrated approach to eliminate the disease includes hormone replacement therapy, dietary nutrition and folk methods of treatment.
Dietary method of treatment
On the restoration of metabolic processes in the body, the right dietary intake has a big influence. Constant control over the products and the amount of fluid consumed rather effectively reduces the likelihood of edema of the face and legs. Also, dietary nutrition helps reduce the accumulated during the illness cholesterol, and prevent the development of obesity.
The healthy nutrition program is always based on reducing the calorie content of dishes and selecting the most useful products that will become suppliers of the necessary vitamins and microelements. Nutritionists in the first place recommend patients almost completely refuse from flour products and confectionery sweets. Also an important limitation is the decrease in the level of consumed animal fats, which are most often found in the following products:
- butter,
- sour cream,
- eggs,
- fatty fish,
- meat,
- lard.
The deficiency of essential fats is replenished by the body when using vegetable oil. In addition, the necessary fats are in seafood. To prevent constipation, which is a common occurrence in hypothyroidism, a large amount of fiber must be included in the daily diet. Also, to normalize the metabolism and prevent swelling, you need to periodically eat dairy products, drink freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices.
Despite the effectiveness of a healthy diet, treating a disruption of the thyroid gland with diet alone will not be right. This method should be used in parallel with taking medications.
Replacement hormone therapy
The method of hormonal treatment is most effective in solving the problem of hypothyroidism. The main direction of such therapy is the use of exogenous drugs. Until recently, endocrinologists used thyroxine and triiodothyronine, but the negative effect of these drugs on the cardiovascular system led to a partial withdrawal of this medication. Currently, such replacement hormones are used only in case of onset of hypothyroid coma.
Intravenous administration of a hormonal drug gives a quick healing effect. If we talk about the swelling of the face and legs, then due to medication, such a visible symptom begins to appear much less often.
Treatment of thyroid dysfunction is based on certain principles:
- dosage of drugs has a strictly individual selection;
- reception of hormonal funds is designed for a long term;
- , the dose change of the prescribed drug should not occur more than one month from the start of treatment;
- during the treatment process the patient should undergo a regular laboratory examination of the hormonal background.
Also during therapy the patient must constantly listen to the internal state of the body, and if there are negative feelings, immediately inform the doctor about it. At treatment of a hypothyrosis in no event it is impossible to be engaged in a selftreatment.
Folk methods of eliminating the symptoms of swelling
The use of folk recipes from herbal remedies with puffiness is more aimed at removing visible symptoms. In alternative medicine, the most popular recipes from natural products that can remove excess liquid from the body( parsley, field horsetail, bearberry, oregano, St. John's wort).
At the same time, the use of herbal medicines effectively affects the overall tone and immunity( eleutherococcus, echinacea, nettle, anise).
Biologically active substances literally trigger metabolic processes with new strength. In addition, in the plant world, there are herbs that contain analogues of human hormones( white cotton, boron uterus).
An important role in the appearance of swelling of the face, hands and feet is played by iodine-containing plants( sea kale, laminaria, persimmon).Regular intake of even dried plant material stimulates the proper production of TSH.
