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Hypothyroidism Learning Center

Being more sensitive to cold; Constipation; Depression; Fatigue or feeling slowed down; Heavier menstrual periods; Joint or muscle pain; Paleness or dry skin; Thin, brittle hair or fingernails; Weakness;
Source:ADAM
Date:April 29, 2009
Hypothyroidism is most often the result of Hashimoto's disease, also known as chronic thyroiditis (inflammation of the thyroid gland). In this disease, the immune system fails to recognize that the thyroid gland is part of the body's own tissue an...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Congenital hypothyroidism is a disorder that affects infants from birth, resulting from the loss of thyroid function due to the failure of the thyroid gland to develop correctly. Sometimes the thyroid gland is absent or is ectopic, i.e., in an abn...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Constipation refers to infrequent or hard stools, or difficulty passing stools. Constipation may involve pain during the passage of a bowel movement, inability to pass a bowel movement after straining or pushing for more than 10 minutes, or no bow...
Source:ADAM
Date:August 22, 2008
Constipation is an acute or chronic condition in which bowel movements occur less often than usual or consist of hard, dry stools that are painful or difficult to pass. Bowel habits vary, but an adult who has not had a bowel movement in three days...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Constipation is an acute or chronic condition in which bowel movements occur less often than usual or consist of hard, dry stools that are painful or difficult to pass. Although constipation is a relative term, with normal patterns of bowel moveme...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Difficulty with producing a bowel movement, or infrequent bowel movements. Constipation, a condition that can affect the human digestive system at any stage of life, is rarely serious or chronic. Because bowel functions vary from individual to ind...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence
Constipation is an acute or chronic condition in which bowel movements occur less often than usual or consist of hard, dry stools that are painful or difficult to pass. Bowel habits vary, but an adult who has not had a bowel movement in three days...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
The term overweight is used to describe an excess amount of total body weight including all tissues (fat, bone, muscle, etc.) and water. Obesity , in contrast, is an excess amount of body fat. An adult woman or man who has a body-fat percentage ex...
Source:Gale Nutrition and Well-Being A to Z
Swelling is the enlargement of organs, skin, or other body parts. It is caused by build up of fluid in the tissues. The extra fluid can lead to a rapid increase in weight over a short period of time (days to weeks. Swelling can occur throughout th...
Source:ADAM
Date:November 16, 2008
Dry skin is most common in your lower legs, arms, flanks (sides of the abdomen), and thighs. The symptoms most often associated with dry skin include: Scaling; Itching; Cracks in the skin.
Source:ADAM
Date:August 8, 2009
Drowsiness refers to feeling abnormally sleepy during the day. People who are drowsy may fall asleep in inappropriate situations or at inappropriate times. See also: Idiopathic hypersomnia
Source:ADAM
Date:June 1, 2009
Hypersomnia refers to a set of related disorders that involve excessive daytime sleepiness.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
True muscle weakness means that full effort does not produce a normal muscle contraction or movement. A voluntary muscle contraction is generated when the brain sends a signal through the spinal cord and nerves to a muscle.
Source:Healthline
Date:September 30, 2007
Absent menstruation means no menstrual flow, or period. Absent menstruation may be: Primary - no menstruation before age 16; Secondary - menstruation begins at the appropriate age, but later stops for more than 3 cycles or 6 months. Absent menstru...
Source:ADAM
Date:June 26, 2008
Cold intolerance is an abnormal sensitivity to a cold environment or cold temperatures.
Source:ADAM
Date:June 17, 2008
The heart rate, usually measured by checking the arterial pulse or sounds counting the times of the heart beat, is considered one of the vital signs. Vital signs – body temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure provide information about the state of health of a person and, if abnormal, offer clues to problems.
Source:Healthline
Date:December 31, 2007
The menstrual cycle is not the same for every woman. On average, menstrual flow occurs every 28 days (with most women having cycles between 24 and 34 days), and lasts about 4-7 days. However, there is a wide variation in timing and duration that i...
Source:ADAM
Date:September 2, 2009
Anything that interferes with the normal menstrual cycle, causing pain , unusually heavy or light bleeding, or missed periods.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Amenorrhea is the medical term for the absence of menstruation . There are two types of amenorrhea, primary and secondary. Primary amenorrhea refers to delayed menarche (the first menstrual period) and is defined as any one of three conditions: th...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Amenorrhea is the absence of menstruation. There are two types of amenorrhea, primary and secondary. Primary amenorrhea is delayed menarche (the first menstrual period) and is defined as any one of three conditions: 1.) absence of menarche by age ...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence
Amenorrhea is the absence of menstruation and is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Primary amenorrhea refers to the absence of the onset of menstruation by age 16 whether or not normal growth and secondary sexual characteristics are present, or the abse...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
The absence of menstrual periods is called amenorrhea. Primary amenorrhea is the failure to start having a period by the age of 16. Secondary amenorrhea is more common and refers to either the temporary or permanent ending of periods in a woman wh...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Unintentional weight gain is an increase in body weight that occurs when a person takes in more calories than the body needs or uses.
Source:ADAM
Date:October 18, 2009
Separated sutures are abnormally wide spaces in the bony joints of the skull in an infant. See also: Sutures - ridged
Source:ADAM
Date:March 14, 2009
Being tired is the familiar aftermath of physical exertion, prolonged labor or lack of sleep. When does being tired become a symptom of a condition? Fatigue, malaise, lassitude, exhaustion are all subtle variations of the same subjective feelings of not having enough energy to meet the demands of one's life.
Source:Healthline
Date:September 30, 2007
Pain is a universal human experience. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders
Pain, medically termed "nociception," is a response to noxious stimuli that is conveyed to the brain by sensory neurons . The discomfort signals actual or impending injury to the body. However, pain is more than a sensation, or the physical awaren...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Pain is an unpleasant feeling that is conveyed to the brain by sensory neurons. The discomfort signals actual or potential injury to the body. However, pain is more than a sensation, or the physical awareness of pain; it also includes perception, ...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Pain is an unpleasant feeling that is conveyed to the brain by nerves in the body.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Pain is an unpleasant feeling that is conveyed to the brain by sensory neurons. The discomfort signals actual or potential injury to the body. However, pain is more than a sensation, or the physical awareness of pain; it also includes perception, ...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Depression, also known as depressive disorders or unipolar depression, is a mental illness characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that once were pleasurable. Disturbance in slee...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Fatigue is a feeling of weariness, tiredness, or lack of energy.
Source:ADAM
Date:August 3, 2009
Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress , medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Fatigue may be defined as a subjective state in which one feels tired or exhausted, and in which the capacity for normal work or activity is reduced. There is, however, no commonly accepted definition of fatigue when it is considered in the contex...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders
Fatigue may be defined as a subjective state in which one feels tired or exhausted, and in which the capacity for normal work or activity is reduced. There is, however, no commonly accepted definition of fatigue when it is considered in the contex...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress , medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Fatigue is a feeling of exhaustion or loss of strength. The duration of fatigue for a patient with cancer has been found to last from one to two times the length of time between diagnosis and completion of treatment, so it is common for fatigue to...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
Anemia is a condition in which the body does not have enough healthy red blood cells. Red blood cells provide oxygen to body tissues. Hemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying protein inside red blood cells. It gives red blood cells their red color. Peopl...
Source:ADAM
Date:April 5, 2009
Anemia is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Anemia is a blood disorder characterized by abnormally low levels of healthy red blood cells (RBCs) or reduced hemoglobin (Hgb), the iron-bearing protein in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to tissues throughout the body. Reduced blood cell vo...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Anemia is characterized by an abnormally low number of red blood cells in the circulating blood. It frequently affects patients with cancer. In fact, in many cancer diagnoses such as multiple myeloma and acute leukemia , the presence of anemia may...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
Anemia is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin (the component of red blood cells that delivers oxygen to tissues throughout the body).
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Anemia is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin (the component of red blood cells that delivers oxygen to tissues throughout the body).
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Deficiency of red cells, or hemoglobin, in the blood. Anemia is a medical condition in which the quantity of red blood cells falls below an acceptable level. Red blood cells, produced in the bone marrow, contain hemoglobin, the component of blood ...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence
Anemia affects more than 30 percent of the world's population, and it is one of the most important worldwide health problems. It has a significant prevalence in both developing and industrialized nations. Causes of anemia include nutritional defic...
Source:Gale Nutrition and Well-Being A to Z
A headache is pain or discomfort in the head, scalp, or neck. Serious causes of headaches are extremely rare. Most people with headaches can feel much better by making lifestyle changes, learning ways to relax, and occasionally by taking medicatio...
Source:ADAM
Date:October 27, 2009
A headache is a pain in the head and neck region that may be either a disorder in its own right or a symptom HEADACHE THERAPIES Description Type Acupressure Press pointer fingers beneath cheekbones and parallel to pupils (Stomach 3) for one minute...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
A headache involves pain in the head which can arise from many disorders or may be a disorder in and of itself.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
A headache involves pain in the head that can arise from many disorders or may be a disorder in and of itself.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Headache is a pain in the head and neck region that may be either a disorder in its own right or a symptom of an underlying medical condition or disease. The medical term for headache is cephalalgia. Headaches are one of the most common and univer...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders
Partial or complete loss of hair is called alopecia.
Source:ADAM
Date:May 7, 2009
Alopecia, also called hair loss, baldness, and epilation, is a common side effect of chemotherapy and radiation therapy . Most patients undergoing chemotherapy, especially those who are being treated with more than one drug, will suffer from hair ...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
Hair loss. Alopecia is partial or total loss of hair as a result of any number of causes, including the normal aging process. In children, alopecia may be a reaction to a drug or therapy (such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy), or may result f...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence
Hair loss, or alopecia , is total or partial baldness caused by hormonal changes or physical or mental stress .
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Hair loss syndromes are a varied group of disorders and conditions characterized by the gradual or sudden loss of large amounts of hair—most often from the scalp, but sometimes from other areas of the body. Hair loss (or baldness) is sometimes ref...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders Part I
Alopecia is the partial or complete loss of hair—especially on the scalp—either in patches (alopecia areata), on the entire head (alopecia totalis), or over the entire body (alopecia universalis).
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Hair loss syndromes are a varied group of disorders and conditions characterized by the gradual or sudden loss of large amounts of hair—most often from the scalp, but sometimes from other areas of the body. Hair loss (or baldness) is sometimes ref...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders Part II
Alopecia simply means hair loss (baldness).
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
A goiter is an enlargement of the thyroid gland. It is not cancer. See also: Colloid nodule goiter; Toxic nodule goiter.
Source:ADAM
Date:April 29, 2009
Goiter is a swelling in the neck, caused by a malfunction of the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland, located in the base of the neck, absorbs iodine from the blood and uses this to produce hormones that regulate many body functions, including EXAMPL...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence
Goiter is an enlargement of the thyroid gland. It may be diffuse, involving all thyroid tissue, or it may be caused by one or more lumps (nodules)—called nodular goiter. Diffuse goiter reflects an underlying thyroid problem, most commonly iodine d...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Public Health
An example of grade III (large and visible) goiter. Most cases of goiter in the developing world are due to an iodine deficiency. Unable to meet the body's hormonal needs, the thyroid becomes enlarged to compensate. [© Lester V. Bergman/Corbis. Re...
Source:Gale Nutrition and Well-Being A to Z
Goiter refers to any visible enlargement of the thyroid gland.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Weakness is a reduction in the strength of one or more muscles.
Source:ADAM
Date:August 8, 2009
Muscle aches and pains are common and can involve more than one muscle. Muscle pain also can involve ligaments, tendons, and fascia, the soft tissues that connect muscles, bones, and organs. See also: Muscle cramps; Joint pain.
Source:ADAM
Date:May 2, 2009
Hoarseness is having difficulty producing sound when trying to speak, or a change in the pitch or quality of the voice. The voice may sound weak, very breathy, scratchy, or husky.
Source:ADAM
Date:October 10, 2008
A voice disorder is an abnormality of one or more of the three characteristics of voice: pitch, intensity (loudness), and quality (resonance).
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Anorexia is characterized by a loss of appetite or lack of desire to eat.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
Depression may be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods. True clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, o...
Source:ADAM
Date:January 20, 2009
Depression is sometimes referred to as the common cold of mental illness. It is a debilitating disease with significant societal costs. It is, however, one of the most clearly defined and treatable of mental illnesses. Technically, the term "depre...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Public Health
Everybody feels sad sometimes, but to be clinically depressed is not just a matter of feeling sad. A patient with cancer is diagnosed as having major depression only if certain symptoms, such as loss of pleasure or thoughts of death, are present f...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
An emotional state or mood characterized by one or more of these symptoms: sad mood, low energy, poor concentration, sleep or appetite changes, feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness, and thoughts of suicide. Until recently, it was thought that...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence
Depression is the general name for a family of illnesses known as depressive disorders. Depression is an illness that affects not only the mood and thoughts, but also the physical functions of affected individuals. Depressive disorders usually res...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders Part I
Depression and depressive disorders (unipolar depression) are mental illnesses characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that once were pleasurable. Disturbance in sleep , appetite...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Depression is the general name for a family of illnesses known as depressive disorders. Depression is an illness that affects not only the mood and thoughts, but also the physical functions of affected individuals. Depressive disorders usually res...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders Part II
Depression or depressive disorders (unipolar depression) are mental illnesses characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that were once pleasurable. Disturbance in sleep, appetite, ...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Depression or depressive disorders (unipolar depression) are mental illnesses characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that were once pleasurable. Disturbance in sleep, appetite, ...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
A depressive disorder is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) as an illness that involves the body, mood and thoughts. It encompasses feelings of overwhelming sadness and despair that persist or intensify over time.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health
Painless swelling of the feet and ankles is a common problem, particularly among older people. Abnormal buildup of fluid in the ankles, feet, and legs is called peripheral edema.
Source:ADAM
Date:December 1, 2009
Dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB) is abnormal bleeding from the vagina that is due to changes in hormone levels.
Source:ADAM
Date:September 2, 2009
Dry hair is hair that does not have enough moisture and oil to maintain its normal sheen and texture.
Source:ADAM
Date:October 28, 2008
Facial swelling is the build-up of fluid in the tissues of the face. Swelling may also affect the neck and upper arms.
Source:ADAM
Date:February 23, 2009
Joint pain can affect one or more joints. See also: Arthritis (inflammation of joints; Bursitis; Muscle pain.
Source:ADAM
Date:April 24, 2008
An arrhythmia is a disorder of the heart rate (pulse) or heart rhythm, such as beating too fast (tachycardia), too slow (bradycardia), or irregularly.
Source:ADAM
Date:May 15, 2008
An arrhythmia is an abnormality in the heart's rhythm, or heartbeat pattern. The heartbeat can be too slow, too fast, have extra beats, skip a beat, or otherwise beat irregularly.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Paleness is an abnormal loss of color from normal skin or mucous membranes.
Source:ADAM
Date:April 13, 2009
Bowel movements normally occur at approximately the same time each day. The feces (stool) itself should be soft enough that it can be passed without straining.
Source:Healthline
Date:September 30, 2007
Many people experience feel short of breath during strenuous activity if they are not accustomed to exercise. If you have a sudden onset of difficulty breathing doing a normal routine, it may be a medical emergency.
Source:Healthline
Date:September 30, 2007
The term anosmia means lack of the sense of smell. It may also refer to a decreased sense of smell. Ageusia, a companion word, refers to a lack of taste sensation. Patients who actually have anosmia may complain wrongly of ageusia, although they r...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
The term anosmia means lack of the sense of smell. It may also refer to a decreased sense of smell. Ageusia, a companion word, refers to a lack of taste sensation. Patients who actually have anosmia may complain wrongly of ageusia, although they r...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders
Impaired sensation is often a signal that there something affecting a nerve or the nervous system. Changes in sensations are often subjective and difficult to describe, that is, experienced by the patient but difficult for the provider to diagnose and treat.
Source:Healthline
Date:October 31, 2007
Itching is a tingling or irritation of the skin that makes you want to scratch the affected area.
Source:ADAM
Date:August 22, 2008
Itching is an intense, distracting irritation or tickling sensation that may be felt all over the skin's surface or confined to just one area. The medical term for itching is pruritus.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
Itching is an intense, distracting irritation or tickling sensation that may be felt all over the skin's surface, or confined to just one area. The medical term for itching is "pruritus."
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Itching is an intense, distracting irritation or tickling sensation that may be felt all over the skin's surface or confined to just one area. The medical term for itching is pruritus.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health
Itching, also called pruritus, is an unpleasant sensation of the skin that causes a person to scratch or rub the area to find relief. Itching can be confined to one spot (localized) or over the whole body (generalized). Severe scratching can injur...
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer
Taste impairment means there is a problem with your sense of taste. Problems range from distorted taste to a complete loss of the sense of taste. However, a complete inability to taste is rare.
Source:ADAM
Date:March 3, 2009
Dysgeusia is a disorder of the sense of taste.
Source:Gale Encyclopedia of Neurological Disorders
The heart rate, usually measured by checking the arterial pulse or sounds counting the times of the heart beat, is considered one of the vital signs. Vital signs – body temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure provide information about the state of health of a person and, if abnormal,offer clues to problems.
Source:Healthline
Date:September 30, 2007
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