International Thyroid Week will take place from Wednesday May 25th to Tuesday May 31st. This year there will be talks and activities aimed at patients in public hospitals and the IPS, in order to detect thyroid nodules in medical consultation, with palpation and information on warning symptoms that may be oriented to pathologies related to the thyroid.
As explained by Dr. Rosa Vega, member of the Paraguayan Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism and general coordinator of the activities, the consultations will take place in the Endocrinology departments of the Hospital de Clínicas in San Lorenzo, in IPS Central and the peripheral ones of Ingavi, Concepción, Villarrica, Villa Hayes, Guarambaré and Encarnación; in addition to other hospitals such as the Military Hospital, Itauguá National Hospital, Lambaré Hospital, Barrio Obrero Hospital, Trinidad Hospital, Luque General Hospital, Mariano Roque Alonso Hospital, Reina Sofía Red Cross Hospital, Tesai Foundation, etc. .
The sessions begin on Wednesday 25 and will run until Tuesday May 31, and take place within the framework of International Thyroid Day, which is celebrated every May 25. Since 2016, an entire week of each year has been instituted in order to emphasize the impact of conditions of this gland on health.
This activity is jointly organized by the Paraguayan Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (SPEM), and the Department of Endocrinology of the Hospital de Clínicas and the IPS. It has the support of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare.
What is the thyroid?
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck, just above the collarbone. It is one of the endocrine glands that produce hormones. Thyroid hormones control the rhythm of many activities in the body.
The most common pathologies related to the thyroid are: hypothyroidism, which is the decrease in the production of thyroid hormones by the thyroid gland; hyperthyroidism whose main symptoms are palpitations, nervousness or irritability, increased sensitivity to heat, bulging eyes, excessive sweating, tremor, insomnia, muscle weakness, diarrhoea, hair loss.
Thyroid nodules are present in a high percentage of the population, although they are more common in women and the risk of developing them increases with age. They can present with or without symptoms, most are benign (80%), but a small percentage (between 10 and 20%) can be malignant, so early diagnosis is important. They occasionally present with pain, hoarseness, and discomfort swallowing.
Both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism in their manifest or mild forms can have repercussions on health in sensitive times of life, such as stages of stature and cognitive development, pregnancy and menopause, and old age.
In the world, 300 million people have some disease related to the thyroid gland, according to the International Federation of the Thyroid. These are very different pathologies with important impacts such as congenital hypothyroidism, whose frequency is 1 in every 2,000 to 4,000 births.
