Give Your Thyroid A Health Check

- Dr Sarah Jarvis

It’s about the same size and shape as a bow tie and sits at the nape of your neck. Your thyroid gland is in charge of telling your body how fast to tick over. If it goes into overdrive or slows, your whole body is affected.

Fortunately, both underactive and overactive thyroid can usually be successfully treated, so it’s important to know the signs. A simple blood test for the levels of thyroxine (the hormone your thyroid gland produces) and TSH (the hormone from your brain which “sets the thermostat” inside your thyroid) should give diagnosis. Sometimes other tests such as an ultrasound scan of your thyroid will be needed.

Underactive thyroid is far more common in women than men, affecting 1 in 50 women in a lifetime. The most common cause is “autoimmune” – your immune system, which usually helps you fight off infection, makes antibodies which recognise your thyroid gland as an enemy. This stops it from working efficiently and your whole body clock slows down.