Awareness keeps thyroid healthy

Sub-clinical thyroid disease is more common than overt disease. Screening is important to identify and treat patients at risk of thyroid dysfunction.

Thyroid affects each and every organ and functions of the body and maintains the metabolic balance. Anyone over 35 years should be screened for thyroid disease every five years. One with family history should be screened once in every two years and should get themselves examined by a physician once in a year.

Keep your thyroid healthy

• Awareness: Know the risk factors, signs & symptoms and common screening tests for thyroid disorders (hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism)

• Self monitoring involves checking your neck by standing in front of a mirror, stretching the back of neck, swallowing water, looking for any bulge, protrusion or enlargement in neck (below Adam's apple, above the collar bone), feeling the area to confirm enlargement or bump

Regular physical examinations and screening:

Sub-clinical thyroid disease is much more common than overt disease. Keeping in mind the prevalence of thyroid disease in India, screening is important to identify and treat patients at risk of thyroid dysfunction.
Anyone with the following risk factors needs to undergo once a year screening by a physician followed by basic diagnostic tests:

• All women

• People above 50 years

• Personal or family history of thyroid disease or any auto immune disease

• High stress life events

• Being pregnant or in the first year after childbirth

• Current or former smoker

• Consuming iodine in herbal supplements or medicines.

• Living in iodine deficient area

• Over consumption of certain foods like brussels sprouts; turnips, cauliflower, etc.

• Recent neck trauma, biopsy, injection, surgery or radiation

Basic diagnostic tests to analyze thyroid function and the risk for thyroid disease include:

• TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), often considered the ‘Gold Standard’ to assess thyroid function and detect sub-clinical thyroid disease.

• Free T3 & free T4, reflective of the unbound and directly effective thyroid hormone levels.

• Tests for thyroid antibodies

What is the treatment for Infertility

Infertility and its treatment

Those who want to get pregnant should not be under stress as it can hinder proper ovulation and fertilization of the egg cell. One must have healthy food and exercise.

Infertility is a condition of the reproductive system that impairs the ability to achieve pregnancy. Infertility equally impacts men and women; about onethird of the cases are due to male factor, one-third to the female and the remaining to the combination of both partners.

Causes of infertility include a wide range of physical as well as emotional factors.

A few preventive measures that can be taken are:

• Prevent undue stress and fatigue, as they can hinder proper ovulation and fertilization of a woman’s egg cell. Try to practice meditation and yoga. Having a relaxing massage or going to a spa to dip in a therapeutic spa treatment can also be helpful.

• Eating healthy and regular exercise is another way to help prevent infertility. Eating healthy food and keeping yourself fit will help keep your body’s system running smoothly and will help keep your menstrual periods regular.

• Smoking and alcohol should be avoided as it can lower your chances of conceiving. Consuming too much caffeine can also affect your bodily functions; try to do so in moderation.

The most common factors for female infertility are:

• Blocked fallopian tube as the result of pelvic inflammatory disease

• Repeated abortion

• Use of an intrauterine (IUD) contraceptive device

Diagnosis is done by investigations like hormone assay, ultra sound / MRI scans and HSG.

There is a lack of awareness about non-surgical treatment of blocked fallopian tubes. Such treatment is performed by an interventional radiologist and the benefits are no pain, no surgical scar, performed on daycare, return to normal daily activities immediately. Moreover, it is cost effective. A patient with blocked tubes on both side can have them fixed in one sitting,

Hysterosalpingography (HSG) is useful in detecting abnormalities of the uterus and the fallopian tubes. It provides an accurate picture of the site and extent of obstruction of the tubes. The procedure usually takes 30 to 45 minutes and a patient can go home after one hour. This procedure is also called fallopian tube recannulation.