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Thyroid pain when swallowing
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Despite its small size, the thyroid gland is rightly considered one of the most important "workers" of the endocrine system. If it is healthy, then we will not lack a lively mind, ease of movement, positive mood and even a slim figure. Only blood hormone level tests, thyroid ultrasound, radiography with radioactive iodine can tell us with a high degree of certainty that it is unhealthy; in some cases, a biopsy is prescribed. But you need to worry about the condition of this organ in time and consult a doctor yourself. Especially if you begin to worry about pain in the thyroid gland when swallowing.
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Thyroid diseases and their treatment
Thyroiditis is a term that refers to several thyroid diseases that differ in pathogenesis and etiology.
Acute thyroiditis develops with such diseases as coccal infection, osteomyelitis, sepsis and others. Often, only one lobe of the gland is affected. The clinical picture of acute thyroiditis: pain in the thyroid gland, which occurs first when swallowing, and then constantly. Pain in the thyroid gland when swallowing can radiate to the ear, back of the head, back of the neck, lower jaw, and rarely to the shoulder. Among the most common symptoms are chills and tachycardia, body temperature rises to 39-40 °. Acute, and especially purulent inflammation of the thyroid gland of a goiter-altered nature (strumitis) is more severe - due to the fact that an excessive amount of thyroid hormones enters the blood, which are released from the destroyed thyroid follicles, thyrotoxicosis develops. The disease can last for several days or several weeks. If the inflammation in the thyroid gland does not decrease, there is a possibility of an abscess and then a fistula. The diagnosis is made based on the characteristic clinical picture, histological examination of the biopsy material, and the establishment of the pathogen.
Antibiotics and sulfonamides are used to treat acute thyroiditis. If an abscess or fistula has already formed, treatment can only be surgical. The prognosis with timely diagnosis and correct treatment is quite favorable. Rarely, if there is extensive destruction of the thyroid parenchyma, hypothyroidism develops.
Subacute thyroiditis can develop in a healthy thyroid gland. There are suggestions that this disease has a viral nature, since it usually begins after a viral infection - flu, measles, mumps and others, and antibodies to the corresponding viruses are found in the blood of patients during the disease. The clinical picture of subacute thyroiditis: sudden onset of pain in the thyroid gland, which radiates to the ear, back of the head, lower jaw and back of the neck. Sometimes there is pain in the thyroid gland when swallowing and turning the head. There is a general deterioration in the condition, an increase in body temperature, an enlargement of the thyroid gland (focal or diffuse, often at first the lesion affects only one lobe), its compaction and sharp pain when palpating. The diagnosis is made on the basis of the standard clinical picture for this disease, the results of laboratory tests and anamnesis information (a viral disease suffered 6-8 weeks before the onset of the disease). An important sign is the patient's response to glucocorticoids, the administration of which for 24-72 hours leads to an improvement in the patient's condition.
Treatment in uncomplicated cases involves the use of such drugs as salicylates and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In moderate and severe cases, hormone therapy (prednisolone and other drugs) is used. The prognosis is quite favorable.
Fibrous invasive thyroiditis is a disease of unclear nature, in which the thyroid parenchyma is replaced by fibrous tissue. The thyroid gland enlarges and hardens. If the process is pronounced, it surrounds the trachea in the form of a ring. Fibrous tissue, replacing the thyroid parenchyma, can spread beyond its limits, resulting in damage to adjacent muscles, nerves, and blood vessels. As a result, the trachea is displaced and compressed, and the timbre of the voice changes. If the recurrent laryngeal nerves are involved in the pathological process, paresis or paralysis of the larynx cannot be ruled out. Basically, patients complain of a feeling of tightness in the neck, difficulty breathing and swallowing. The skin over the thyroid gland is unchanged. There is no pain.
Treatment is surgery.
Thyroid goiter is a tumor disease of the thyroid gland, which leads to the formation of nodular neoplasms (nodular goiter) and an increase in the gland itself. The cause of thyroid goiter is a lack of iodine in the body, weak immunity and pollution of the environment in which a person lives.
Symptoms of thyroid goiter at the very beginning of the disease are usually weakly expressed. When nodes are just beginning to form, a person feels discomfort in the chest area and a feeling of constriction in the neck. The occurrence of a tumor in the thyroid gland provokes disruptions in the nervous system. He begins to sweat excessively, become irritable and have insomnia.
In addition, the accompanying symptoms of thyroid goiter are increased heart rate (tachycardia), hand tremors, sudden coldness of the extremities, and severe sweating of the palms. If the disease progresses, the metabolism is disrupted, which leads to a sudden increase in weight or, occasionally, to a decrease in body weight. Also, Graves' disease (exophthalmos) can develop against the background of thyroid goiter.
The manifestation of symptoms also depends on the location of the goiter. If the goiter in the throat is large, hoarseness, discomfort in the throat (a feeling of constriction or a foreign body) or pain in the thyroid gland when swallowing appear. If the goiter develops in the retrosternal region, the bronchi are compressed, and pressure exerted by the goiter on the esophagus is felt.
Treatment of goiter depends on its etiology. If there are nodes in it, their removal is prescribed. Depending on the cause of the goiter, an appropriate course of treatment is prescribed.
In parallel with drug treatment, patients must adhere to a certain diet prescribed by the doctor. Products must necessarily contain a large amount of iodine (seafood, seaweed, etc.). The patient must monitor bowel function, avoid flour, spicy and fatty foods, and exclude coffee, preservatives and alcoholic beverages from their diet.