It may be due to damage to the thyroid gland by inflammation, autoimmunity, or tumor. If the patient has fever and has an upper respiratory infection before the onset, the first consideration is subacute thyroiditis caused by a viral infection with a hard texture and significant pain when the thyroid is pressed, which can spread to the neck and behind the ear.
Early symptoms of hyperthyroidism, lethargy, and agitation are present. The principle of treatment is symptomatic treatment with analgesics such as aspirin, and when the pain is severe, switching to hormone therapy is more effective, but the disease is prone to recurrence and the treatment cycle takes at least 2-3 months.
The acute onset of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is also associated with thyroid pain, but localized in extent, moderately enlarged, often with nodule production on the surface, and diagnosed by checking the blood for antithyroid antibodies. Patients with advanced disease may develop symptoms of hypothyroidism such as nervous apathy, weight gain, and decreased appetite, and are treated with eugenol, not surgery, which can lead to lifelong hypothyroidism.
There is no pain in the early stages of thyroid cancer. Later, when the tumor enlarges and compresses the surrounding tissues, it causes distension and pain, and the main treatment for this disease is surgical excision and eradication.