Medical App & Medical Advice with Hello Doctor

Could you be suffering from Graves’ disease?

Your thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck, but it plays an important role in your overall well-being.

Thyroid hormones control how your body uses energy, so they affect almost every organ in your body, even the rhythm of your heartbeat. The thyroid regulates your metabolism by releasing hormones into the bloodstream.

Graves’ disease develops when your immune system damages your thyroid gland by mistaking healthy cells for foreign invaders.

In response, the thyroid gland starts to make more thyroid hormone than your body needs; causing hyperthyroidism or an overactive thyroid.

So, what causes the disease?

While researchers aren’t sure why some people develop autoimmune disorders like Graves’ disease, a combination of genes and environmental factors is thought to be the cause.

A family history of Graves’ disease increases your chance of developing the condition, and in terms of environmental factors; you’re much more likely to develop Graves’ disease if you smoke.

Symptoms

Graves’ disease symptoms are gradual and take several weeks or months to develop. These can include behavioural changes like nervousness, irritability, anxiousness, restlessness and difficulty sleeping (insomnia).

Other symptoms include:

  • Emotional swings
  • Sweating
  • Hand tremor
  • Palpitations
  • Unexplained weight loss (often despite increased appetite)
  • Sensitivity to warm temperatures (feeling hot all the time)
  • Muscle weakness
  • Shortness of breath

Physical Signs and Symptoms

If Graves’ disease goes untreated, physical signs and symptoms may start to develop.

And these include:

  • Goitre: A goitre is an enlarged thyroid gland. Anyone can develop a goitre, but the chances increase with age. When the gland isn’t making enough thyroid hormone, it compensates by growing. As the thyroid gets bigger; your neck may begin to look full or swollen. One of the common causes of this particular condition is an iodine deficiency, a trace mineral (a micro mineral that you only need in small amounts) your body needs to maintain thyroid function.
  • Eye problems: Eye disease related to Graves’ disease is called Graves’ ophthalmopathy.
    These problems vary from mild to very severe. Symptoms include red eyes, tearing, a feeling of sand or dust in the eyes, and sensitivity to light. In more severe cases, one or both eyes may protrude from the eye sockets. This is called exophthalmos, which can make you appear as though you are staring. Graves’ disease causes an inflammatory response in the eye muscles; which causes the muscles and tissues in that area to swell.
  • Skin thickening: Some may develop thickening of the skin over the front of the lower leg called the tibia. The disorder causes skin lesions that are patchy and pink. Other parts of the skin rarely get affected.

Diagnosis

A diagnosis of Graves’ disease is based on detailed patient and family history, a thorough clinical evaluation, and specialised blood tests that measure levels of thyroid hormone and thyroid-stimulating hormone.

Your doctor may want to measure the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), T3 (triiodothyronine), and T4 (thyroxine) hormone levels in your blood. T3 and T4 are the major hormones produced by your thyroid. TSH, which is released by the pituitary gland, tells your thyroid to produce T3 and T4.

If your doctor can’t definitively diagnose Graves’ disease after looking at your TSH, T3, and T4 levels, they may refer you to a specialist for further tests or treatment.

Reference:

Natural deodorants that work

Let’s face it – no one likes B.O. Especially when it’s emanating from the stranger next to you on the taxi. Although you may not feel particularly positive about it, you would be wise to remind yourself how sophisticated the sweat-response is. It doesn’t just make you feel cool on a warm day, it actually protects your body from overheating – which could actually kill you!

In the bigger scheme of things, body-odour is a very small side-effect, and the good news is that you can combat the smell, naturally.

Antiperspirant or deodorant?

It’s important to know that not everything you swipe under your underarms is referred to as deodorant. Here’s why.

Antiperspirants typically use aluminium in some form and it’s meant to control sweat (or perspiration). Roll-ons commonly have active ingredients with scientific names.

  • Aluminium zirconium tetrachlorohydrex (roll-ons).
  • Aluminium chlorohydrate (aerosol antiperspirants).

The aluminium in antiperspirants creates a temporary little plug in your armpit sweat glands, which prevents excessive sweating. Deodorants on the other hand, are made to mask body odour, they don’t contain aluminium, and don’t stop you from sweating. They only reduce body odour, by using fragrance or antibacterial compounds to make your armpits a little less bacteria-friendly.

What really causes that foul odour?

Body scents in general, are caused by 1) the substances secreted from skin glands and 2) skin bacteria. The smell is influenced by your diet, your hormonal cycles, your genetic typing and the type of bacteria living on your skin.

Go au naturel

Mild body odour is common, but when things turn sour, it can damage your self-esteem. Here are some recipes you can try to combat the smell, without exposing yourself to harsh chemicals:

Homemade roll-on:

  • Baking soda or bicarbonate of soda is a white crystalline compound, loaded with health benefits. It absorbs moisture from the skin and keeps it dry, acts as a natural deodorant agent to prevent body odour, kills bacteria and neutralises the body to prevent excess sweating and odour.
  • Known to serve its purpose in the kitchen, coconut oil can be useful as a deodorant because of its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties while also hydrating your skin. It can fight bacteria that causes odour in your underarms after you sweat. It’s perfect for those with sensitive armpits too. Before you use coconut oil as a deodorant, do a skin test to see if there’s a chance of an allergy reaction.

Essential oils

You can choose your oils based on how they smell. It’s also important to include essential oils that kill bacteria.

  • Witch hazel reduces underarm odour by lowering the skin’s pH (a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of our body’s fluids and tissues) so the bacteria that causes odour can’t survive.
  • Lavender and tea tree oil are commonly used in natural deodorants. They have antibacterial properties.
  • Rosemary contains antibacterial properties that fight build-up of bacteria, which causes body odour.
  • Sage will help reduce activity in your sweat glands, which is one of the main causes of body odour.

Prevent the dreaded whiff

  • Hair absorbs odours easily, so shave your armpits regularly to reduce bacterial growth, sweat and odour.
  • Keep your underarms dry. Bacteria thrive in moisture and will struggle to breed in dry areas of the body.
  • Wear breathable fabrics. Many synthetic fabrics trap sweat and moisture.
  • Change your diet. Fatty foods and strong-smelling foods like garlic, onions and spicy foods can leak through your skin and cause body odour.

References:

I think I sweat too much

It’s summertime in South Africa and that can only mean one thing: hot days are on their way. One way your body cools itself down is by sweating – it’s a complex cooling system that stop your body from overheating. The only problem is, sweat leads to smells. Continue reading “I think I sweat too much”