How is Thyroid Disease Detected?
During an evaluation, a physician will examine the thyroid gland, a butterfly-shaped gland in the neck, to check for size and the presence of nodules. If there is a dominant nodule, the physician must make sure it is not malignant.
Along with checking the gland itself, physicians will ask a patient about symptoms of thyroid imbalance and order a blood test. The test will determine both the level of thyroid hormone and the level of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormones).
A high TSH level indicates that the body is signaling the thyroid to produce more hormone, a sign of hypothyroidism. A low TSH level indicates the thyroid is being signaled to produce less hormone, a sign of hyperthyroidism.
Subclinical hypothyroidism is common among older adults. This state indicates a higher risk for these patients to progress to a symptomatic hypothyroid state and they need to be watched carefully and treated if they develop hypothyroid symptoms or if their TSH levels go higher than 15.
While it is rare, 1 in 4,000 infants are born with hypothyroidism. Girls are twice as likely to suffer from this as boys. Wisconsin and many other states include a thyroid test as part of neonatal screening,
