Graves disease: all you need to know

Graves disease is one of the most common conditions of hyperthyroidism and is caused by the body's production of antibodies to thyroid stimulating hormone. These antibodies stimulate the thyroid gland to produce an excessive amount of hormones and it binds to the receptor causing it to activate continuously without stopping, which causes the production of large amounts of thyroid hormones symptoms of graves disease.

Symptoms

Graves disease causes many symptoms including the following.

1. Exophthalmos this symptom is one of the characteristic symptoms of graves disease which appears in more than 30 per cent of people and this problem occurs due to the effect of immune inflammation in the body on the tissues and muscles of the eye.

2. Skin problems or so-called Graves dermatopathy or a common symptom which is redness and thickening of the skin on the legs and feet

3. Other symptoms include the following severe anxiety mild Tremors in the body, heavy sweating, goiter, and rapid heartbeat. Sleep disturbances cause and risk factors for Graves disease one the cause of Graves’ disease. There is no clear reason for the occurrence of graves disease, but it is generally caused by a disorder in the immune system that causes the production of antibodies that act as the thyroid regulating hormone which causes the secretion of thyroid hormones to exceed the normal limit 

Risk factors

1. Family history- There are several risk factors that may increase your risk of developing Graves’ disease including family history, the risk of developing the disease increases if a family member is infected gender women are more likely to develop Graves disease than men.

2. Age- The risk of developing the disease increases in people under the age of 40.

3. Smoking- Smoking is one of the most important risk factors and it is associated with more eye disease symptoms than non-smokers.

Treatment

Graves disease aims to stop the production of thyroid hormones and stop the symptoms that they cause in different parts of the body. Treatment can include the following radioactive iodine therapy radioactive iodine is given orally as it works to reduce the size of the thyroid gland and thus, reduce the secretion of thyroid hormones anti-thyroid drugs these medications block the secretion of thyroid hormones and usually include protopathic uracil and methimazole beta receptor blockers.

The function of these drugs is to prevent the effect of thyroid hormones on the body which helps to solve the problems of your regular heartbeat sweating and muscle weakness.

Surgery is usually resorted to in the latter cases where part or all of the thyroid gland is removed and in most cases, there is a need to supply the body with thyroid hormones after surgery.