News & Articles
An Overview of Drug-Induced Thyroiditis
- 6:43, 12th September 2018
- Test Organization
- Diseases and Infections
- Drug-Induced Thyroid Diseases
Thyroiditis is a medical condition when the thyroid gland swells abnormally, resulting in an unnatural level of thyroid hormone in the blood. Normally, thyroiditis is caused due to infection or radiation. Drug-induced thyroiditis is one type of the disorder, caused because of medicines and drugs.
Components like cytokine, a-interferon, amiodarone, lithium and iodine trigger the dysfunction in the thyroid gland. The secretion from the gland reduces by a dangerous amount, which can be generally identified by a feeling of mild pain near the thyroid gland. But, this condition is not harmful as the thyroiditis might stop if you stop taking the medications responsible for it.
Complications caused due to drug-induced thyroiditis
Though short-lived, thyroiditis might have several complications on your body. The most extreme case of this can be the onset of Myxedema Coma, where a person goes up to the extent of total loss of consciousness and a complete inability to respond or feel.
This condition is very rare and might be due to infection or cold, apart from the common reason of medications. In this case, you will have extremely slow breathing and experience a sudden decrease in the body temperature. Your blood pressure and blood sugar fall considerably and require for immediate medical attention.
Apart from this extreme case of Myxedema Coma, the other risks the person will have are:
# Heart diseases due to lower heart rate
# Miscarriage at the time of pregnancy
# Infertility
# Onset of pituitary tumors, a rare condition in most people
The immediate step that needs to be taken in case of drug-induced thyroiditis is to stop taking the responsible medication. The drugs may even cost you your life, if not stopped immediately.
It is advisable to get the necessary information from Curedit and make the required changes of switching to anti-inflammatory and non-steroidal drugs.
