Is Hashimoto's thyroiditis easy to treat?

Written by Luo Juan
Endocrinology
Updated on February 17, 2025
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Regarding whether Hashimoto's thyroiditis is easy to treat, it needs to be analyzed based on specific circumstances. Generally, after diagnosing Hashimoto's thyroiditis, the treatment decision depends on the size of the thyroid and whether there are any symptoms.

For patients with a smaller thyroid who do not have noticeable compression symptoms, follow-up observation without immediate treatment is possible. However, for patients with significant thyroid enlargement and compression symptoms, treatment with levothyroxine can be adopted to reduce thyroid size. In some patients who develop hypothyroidism, thyroid hormone replacement therapy is used.

Moreover, some patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis may also develop thyroid nodules. It is necessary to dynamically track changes in the morphology of the thyroid nodules. Patients with obvious compression symptoms, significant local pain, progressive enlargement of the nodules, or suspected malignant changes should undergo surgical treatment.

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Written by Chen Xie
Endocrinology
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Is Hashimoto's thyroiditis contagious?

Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease, which is neither hereditary nor contagious, but it does tend to run in families. If parents have Hashimoto's thyroiditis, their children are at a relatively higher risk of developing the disease. Therefore, Hashimoto's thyroiditis is not contagious, so everyone can be reassured. As for the treatment of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, if hypothyroidism occurs, one simply needs to take levothyroxine on time for replacement therapy to restore thyroid function to normal levels without any special discomfort. When the thyroid gland in Hashimoto's thyroiditis is relatively large and causes significant compression symptoms, surgical treatment can be considered. Therefore, Hashimoto's thyroiditis is not contagious, nor is it hereditary, but it does have a familial clustering tendency.

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Written by Tang Zhuo
Endocrinology
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Is Hashimoto's thyroiditis severe?

Hashimoto's thyroiditis, also known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, is a common type of autoimmune thyroid disease. Hashimoto's thyroiditis is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. If hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto's thyroiditis is identified, long-term administration of levothyroxine can achieve good control. It is worth noting that the clinical manifestations of Hashimoto's thyroiditis are often atypical, or may coexist with other thyroid diseases, or other autoimmune diseases. Special attention needs to be paid to certain types of Hashimoto's thyroiditis. One such type is Hashitoxicosis, Hashimoto's pseudohyperthyroidism, or Hashimoto's thyroiditis accompanied by thyroid tumors, Hashimoto's encephalopathy, or Hashimoto's with proptosis. These special types require particular attention.

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Written by Tang Zhuo
Endocrinology
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How is Hashimoto's thyroiditis treated?

Hashimoto's thyroiditis is a chronic autoimmune disease and is the most common form of thyroid inflammation clinically. It can be diagnosed through thyroid function tests, iodine-131 uptake tests, thyroid antibody tests, and ultrasound examinations. If there are changes in imaging or if serum anti-thyroglobulin antibodies and anti-thyroperoxidase antibodies are positive, a diagnosis can be confirmed. Regarding treatment, if thyroid function is normal in Hashimoto's thyroiditis, no treatment is necessary, but close monitoring and observation are advised. If Hashimoto's thyroiditis is accompanied by transient hyperthyroidism, symptomatic treatment with beta-blockers can be administered. If there is a decrease in thyroid gland function, thyroid hormone replacement therapy should be initiated, typically with levothyroxine tablets, until thyroid function tests return to normal. Additionally, daily care is important, such as avoiding high doses of iodine intake, maintaining regular sleep patterns, avoiding staying up late, maintaining a positive and optimistic mood, avoiding anxiety and stress, preventing common cold and trauma infections, and ensuring a balanced diet with high protein, low fat, high carbohydrate, and high vitamin content.

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Written by Chen Xie
Endocrinology
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Does Hashimoto's thyroiditis cause fever?

Hashimoto's thyroiditis belongs to autoimmune thyroiditis, where the body's own antibodies destroy the thyroid follicular cells, leading to apoptosis of thyroid cells. As the disease progresses, it may lead to hypothyroidism. Generally, Hashimoto's thyroiditis does not cause fever. If a patient with Hashimoto's thyroiditis experiences a fever, it is necessary to exclude other infectious diseases. If a patient with Hashimoto's thyroiditis has a fever, especially if there is significant tenderness in the thyroid area, it is necessary to exclude the possibility of concomitant subacute thyroiditis. If Hashimoto's thyroiditis is accompanied by subacute thyroiditis, small doses of hormones can be used for treatment. (Please use medication under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Written by Zhang Jun Jun
Endocrinology
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Does Hashimoto's thyroiditis cause a sore throat?

Hashimoto's thyroiditis does not cause a sore throat; the type of thyroiditis that primarily causes a sore throat is subacute thyroiditis. Subacute thyroiditis is a viral infection and is a self-limiting disease. Its main clinical manifestations include sore throat, thyroid enlargement, as well as accompanying fever and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Meanwhile, Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease, whose most common clinical manifestation is painless thyroid enlargement, progressing to hypothyroidism in later stages. Additionally, it involves thyroid antibodies, especially positive TPO antibodies. Because the treatments for each are different, it is important to note that Hashimoto's thyroiditis does not cause a sore throat.