Thyroid disease: This clue on your face could be an early sign of the disease

If you find yourself feeling constantly tired or are experiencing unexplained weight gain, constipation or unusual sensitivity to cold, you might have a condition known as hypothyroidism. This disease is often considered to be an invisible and potentially dangerous condition because it hardly shows any signs. However, if you pay close attention to your face, you might find tell-tale signs of the disease, that’s if you have it.

What is hypothyroidism?

Also known as underactive thyroid disease, this condition is brought on when there isn’t enough thyroid hormone in your bloodstream, causing your metabolism to slow down, according to Cleveland Clinic. Hypothyroidism is fairly common and can affect the entire body.

Although treatable, hypothyroidism can be life-threatening if your thyroid levels become extremely low. Apart from tiredness, weight gain and constipation, depression, slow movements and thoughts are some of the common symptoms of this condition. According to the NHS:

Symptoms of an underactive thyroid are often similar to those of other conditions, and they usually develop slowly, so you may not notice them for years.

Facial signs

The NHS also lists other symptoms which tend to appear on the face including thinned or partly missing eyebrows. This change in eyebrow may be more visible on the outer third of the eyebrow, and may be among the first signs of low thyroid activity.

Having underactive thyroid disease could also lead to hair loss across the scalp as well as the eyebrow. According to the British Thyroid Association:

Severe and prolonged hypothyroidism [...] can cause hair loss. Hair loss due to thyroid disease becomes apparent several months after the onset of thyroid disease. This is due to the long hair cycle.

Luckily, this can be reversed once you seek treatment, thus the need for early diagnosis.

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