Nodal craw

Craw is called the enlargement of the thyroid gland. In that case when in a thyroid gland there are nodal educations, speak about a nodal craw. The nodal craw – the most frequent pathology of a thyroid gland, occurs at 5% of the population, and by estimates of specialists if to consider the latent forms of a nodal craw revealed sometimes is accidental during inspection in other occasion, this figure can safely be doubled. Women are subject to a nodal craw four times bigger, than men.

The nodal craw is a group of the diseases combined by the general sign – existence of nodes in a thyroid gland. The matter is that tissue of a thyroid gland is formed by a set of follicles, each follicle represents the microscopic cellular sphere containing inside substance in a colloid form. The thyroid nodule represents the increased follicle – single, multiple (a multinodal craw), several increased follicles soldered among themselves, the follicular cyst or a tumor which arose from a follicle (adenoma including malignant).

Reasons of a nodal craw

Reasons of a nodal craw still neustanovlenna. It is considered to be that residence in areas with the reduced content of iodine in water (a local craw) matters, however data of medical statistics say that nodes in a thyroid gland are formed at the people living in areas with the normal content of iodine is not much more rare. Therefore if low content of iodine not the only reason of a nodal craw.

Increase in follicles and formation of cysts happens in response to changes in an organism at which load of a thyroid gland raises. It happens at various diseases, genetic predisposition, and also influence of some factors of the environment, especially stresses. Some specialists consider such forms as a colloid proliferating nodal craw, age change of a thyroid gland.

Types of a nodal craw

Depending on an origin, structure and the reason of a nodal craw, distinguish its following types:

• Local nodal craw;
• Solitary node (single thyroid nodule);
• Multinodal craw (set of thyroid nodules);
• Kongolomeratny nodal craw (a conglomerate from the nodes soldered among themselves);
• Diffusion and nodal craw (nodes are educated in the increased thyroid gland);
• True cyst of a thyroid gland;
• Follicular adenoma of a thyroid gland (benign tumor);
• Malignant tumor of a thyroid gland.

Degrees of a nodal craw

Depending on that, the thyroid gland is how increased, define degrees of a nodal craw. Earlier classification of degrees of a nodal craw by O. V. Nikolaev was accepted, in 1994 the World Health Organization offered new classification. However in clinical practice both Nikolaev's classification, and the WHO classification therefore we will bring both is applied now.

Degrees of a nodal craw (and a craw in general) over Nikolaev:

• 0 degree – a thyroid gland is not visible and is not palpated;
• 1 degree – a thyroid gland is not visible, but is palpated;
• 2 degree – a thyroid gland are visible during swallowing;
• 3 degree – the thyroid gland increases a neck contour, doing it thick;

• 4 degree – the explicit craw breaking a neck configuration;
• 5 degree – the thyroid gland reaches the huge sizes and squeezes the next bodies.

Degrees of a nodal craw (and a craw in general) by definition of WHO:

• 0 degree — there is no craw
• 1 degree — the sizes of shares (or one share) is more than distal phalanx of a thumb of the patient. The craw is palpated, but is not visible.
• 2 degree — a craw are palpated, is visible an eye.

Symptoms of a nodal craw

As a rule, symptoms of a nodal craw are absent. It more belongs to the most common form, a nodal colloid proliferative craw, and also to cysts of a thyroid gland. In this case the only symptoms of a nodal craw are educations, nodes and cysts, as a rule, of the patient at the same time nothing disturbs. If nodes reach the considerable sizes, complaints to cosmetic defect or to feeling of a prelum of a neck can appear.

If it is about a diffusion and nodal craw then symptoms of a nodal craw match thyrotoxicosis symptoms: nervousness, weight loss at the increased volume of the eaten food, tachycardia, etc.

In general it is possible to tell that in all cases, except a colloid proliferative nodal craw, and follicular cysts of a thyroid gland, symptoms of a nodal craw correspond to symptoms of the basic disease which caused formation of nodes.

Diagnosis of a nodal craw

The diagnosis of a nodal craw is made on the basis of data of inspection of a thyroid gland. The following methods are for this purpose applied:

• Blood test on the content of hormones of a thyroid gland;
• Fine-needle puncture biopsy of a thyroid gland (TPB);
• Radio isotope scanning of a thyroid gland;
• The Computer Tomography (CT) or the magnetic and resonant tomography (MRT) of a thyroid gland – the most expensive, but also most informative methods of inspection.

Treatment of a nodal craw

Treatment of a nodal craw is carried out depending on the reason which served to emergence of nodes in a thyroid gland. Most of specialists consider that treatment of a nodal craw in the form of a nodal colloid proliferative craw is not required, in this case order dynamic observation of a condition of a thyroid gland, and treatment is appointed only when nodes show a tendency to growth within a short period of time.

Treatment of a nodal craw can be medicamentous and surgical, the choice of a method is carried out by the attending physician. Medicamentous therapy is carried out by the drugs suppressing excessive production of hormones of a thyroid gland. One of effective methods of treatment of a nodal craw consists in introduction to a thyroid gland of drugs of a radioiodine that promotes reduction or even disappearance of nodes and recovery of the normal size of gland.

Operational treatment of a nodal craw consists at a distance nodes and if there are special indications, for example, a malignant tumor, one share or all thyroid gland at a distance.

Treatment of a nodal craw folk remedies

Before starting treatment of a nodal craw folk remedies, it is necessary to visit surely the endocrinologist as at some forms treatment can be only surgical, and self-medicating, it is possible to miss precious time.

Treatment of a nodal craw folk remedies an excellent way of maintenance of health in an interval between administration of drugs, or at a colloid proliferative form of a disease when drug treatment is not required.

In general, treatment of a nodal craw folk remedies is directed to correction of content of iodine in food. A good way to make it in the recipes given below:

1. To take 1 kg of fresh berries of a black-fruited mountain ash, to mix with 1 kg of sugar, to pound carefully. To accept the received mix 3 times a day on 1-2 tsps.

2. To eat daily 50-100g a laminaria, or to accept a powder teaspoon from it.