How to prevent and treat thyroid disease?

The main measures are: lifestyle interventions, psychological care and standardization of medication and various precautions during the long-term treatment process. 1. Lifestyle interventions Iodine is closely related to thyroid disease, and insufficient or excessive iodine can lead to thyroid disease. Since the implementation of universal salt iodization regulations in 1996, iodine deficiency has been basically eliminated in China, but there are still problems of excess iodine in some areas. Patients with thyroid disease should reduce their iodine intake, forbid seafood, seaweed and seaweed, and not use iodine-containing drugs. A low-salt, low-iodine diet is advocated, and there is no need to take non-iodized salt. Frying iodized salt hot or in the sun is sufficient, except during puberty, pregnancy, lactation or cold, trauma and infectious diseases, which cause an increase in the body’s need for thyroid hormones. Care should be taken to eat less goiter-causing foods, such as radish and cabbage, and less foods containing heterogeneous proteins, such as shrimp, crab and male chicken. Patients with hyperthyroidism have an increased metabolic rate and increased consumption, so they should be given a high-calorie, high-protein and vitamin-rich diet to meet the body’s needs. Patients with increased heart rate and fear of heat and sweating should ensure rest and avoid strenuous exercise. Hypothyroidism can be caused by inflammation (Hashimoto’s thyroid disease), 131I radiotherapy, thyroid surgery, disorders of iodine metabolism, anti-thyroid drugs, food, genetics, and extensive disease within the thyroid gland such as metastatic cancer. The disease is currently considered difficult to treat and difficult to eradicate, and long-term replacement therapy is required. For this disease, we should focus on the prevention and treatment of the cause, such as correcting the disorder of iodine metabolism, avoiding 131I or surgical treatment of hyperthyroidism as much as possible. Drugs or food should be discontinued or reduced. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is the most important cause of hypothyroidism. This disease is an autoimmune disease influenced by genetic factors as well as environmental factors and can occur in several generations in the same family. Therefore, children of patients with Hashimoto’s thyroid disease should pay attention to reducing iodine intake and checking thyroid function if necessary to try to prevent the occurrence of Hashimoto’s thyroid disease by early intervention. Patients with thyroid disease should get enough sleep and go to bed before 11:00 pm. Good living habits and adequate sleep, in line with the cyclical rhythm of neuroendocrine changes, are important factors in the prevention and treatment of thyroid disease. 2. Psychological care Hyperthyroidism patients often show symptoms of psychoneurotic excitement, manifested as anxiety, impatience, emotional instability, mostly accompanied by insomnia, dreaminess, memory loss, and in severe cases, schizophrenia and manic psychosis. Patients with hypothyroidism suffer from mental decline, poor memory and comprehension, fatigue, drowsiness, slowness of speech and movement, depression, and in some cases, depression. Patients with either hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism experience some psychological stress, especially when accompanied by proptosis and goiter. Excessive persistent or intense mental stress is an important factor in causing thyroid disease. Patients should be provided with psychological care to eliminate anxiety and depression. For patients with depression, anxiety and psychological stress, timely psychological guidance should be provided to eliminate bad emotions, maintain a good psychological state and actively cooperate with treatment. 3.Medication guidance and precautions during treatment Hyperthyroidism itself and anti-thyroid drugs (methimazole or propylthiouracil) can lead to leukopenia and liver function damage. In the course of treatment, it is necessary to check the white blood cells regularly. Once you have a sore throat or fever, go to the hospital to check the white blood cells immediately. Review liver function regularly and check it immediately if digestive symptoms appear. Be sure to check thyroid function 1-2 months during up to about 2 years of medical treatment, and add levothyroxine when appropriate to prevent hypothyroidism or refractory proptosis or goiter. Adjuvant medications such as cardiotrophin and lycopodium tablets can be taken basically according to the drug instructions. Most patients with hypothyroidism have to take the medication for the rest of their lives, and a few can stop taking it for a few months. Thyroid function can be rechecked semi-annually after dose adjustment is in place. It is important to note that hypothyroidism during pregnancy, even mild hypothyroidism, can lead to abnormal fetal development and reduced intelligence in the offspring. The American College of Endocrinology issued guidelines for the management of thyroid dysfunction in pregnancy and the postpartum period in 2007, which recommend that serum TSH should be maintained below 2.5 mIU/L in the first trimester of pregnancy. Thyroid function should be checked every 1-2 months during pregnancy. All thyroid disorders can cause goiter, and most long-term goiters form thyroid nodules. The prevalence of thyroid nodules in the general population is 4%, and thyroid nodules can be detected in about 50% of the general population with high-resolution ultrasonography. For thyroid nodules, the main focus is on history, signs, ultrasonography, and thyroid cytocentesis with aspiration cytology to assess the benignity of the nodule, surgical treatment for malignant cases, and follow-up observation for benign nodules. Tell the patient to try to palpate the size of the thyroid nodule and other parts of the neck periodically and to seek immediate medical attention for any nodule that grows faster or for any new nodule that appears elsewhere in the neck. Also seek immediate medical attention for any mild hoarseness of speech, difficulty breathing or swallowing.