Thyroid gland is an essential part of the human body located at the front of the neck. Though it is a very small gland, it is indispensable for the proper growth and health of a being. The thyroid gland extracts iodine present in food items and converts it into useful hormones like thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), which help control metabolism.

Only the thyroid cells can absorb iodine from food, which is a very important mineral required by the body. After absorbing iodine, these cells combine it with amino acid tyrosine and form thyroxine and triiodothyronine hormones.

An under active thyroid gland can lead to various kinds of ailments like hair loss, low blood pressure, muscle cramps and muscle aches.

Deficiency of thyroid hormones also causes constipation, dry hair, decreased libido, dry, rough or pale skin, fatigue, fluid retention, irritability, memory loss, weakness, weight gain or difficulty in losing weight. An affected person can become lethargic and weak with slow body movements or reflexes.

A person suffering from imbalance in thyroid hormones is unable to tolerate very low temperatures. The blood pressure can also increase in certain individuals, as deficiency of thyroid hormones can lower the pulse rate also. Therefore, this certainly puts an individual at the peril of a heart attack.

In females, an under active thyroid gland can lead to problems like tumors, pain during menstrual periods, fibroids PMS and formation of cysts in ovary suffer. The worst effect can be dynamic weight gain or loss and gallbladder disease.

These symptoms vary from one person to the other, depending on the level of deficiency of the needed hormones. The severity of the deficiency also depends on the amount of time that the body has been deprived of the required elements. Though in most of the people, several symptoms appear at the same time, some of the deficient people might not show any symptoms at all.

Deficiency of iodine can make the thyroid gland under active, which can even cause lumps in the throat referred to as thyroid tumors or thyroid nodules. Most of such nodules are non-cancerous in nature. A doctor can diagnose the severity of the deficiency and prescribe medicine.

Often a patient is advised to go for ultra-sound of the thyroid so as to establish the characteristics of the lump. If that does not lead to any convincing conclusion, a procedure known as a fine needle aspiration biopsy is conducted. After removing a few thyroid cells from the infected area, they are sent to a lab where tests are conducted upon them to determine the nature of the tumor.

Still if fine needle aspiration biopsy fails to provide any concrete results, thyroidectomy is the last resort. Thyroidectomy involves the surgical amputation of part of the thyroid, which may cause cancer. After the infected gland is removed, one would be required to take thyroid hormones, as the remaining part of the gland would not be able to secrete enough amounts of thyroid hormones.

So, one can keep a note of all such symptoms and take the needy measures as early as possible.