Goitre
Overview
A goitre is a lump or swelling at the front of the neck caused by a swollen thyroid. The thyroid is a small gland in your neck that makes hormones. Goitres are not usually serious but should be checked by a GP.
Symptoms
The main symptom of a goitre is a swelling at the front of the neck, which is usually painless. You may also have other symptoms including: a cough that does not go awaya hoarse voice or voice changesfeeling like something is stuck in your throata wheezing noise when you breathefinding it hard to swallow or breathe
Causes
A goitre happens when your thyroid gland is swollen. Some reasons why your thyroid might be swollen include: anoveractive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism)anunderactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism)harmless lumps (nodules) on the thyroidhormone changes during puberty, pregnancy or themenopausean inflamed thyroid gland (thyroiditis)having a condition with your immune system, like Grave's diseasenot enoughiodinein your diet - this is rare in the UKthyroid cancer– this is rare
Treatment
Most goitres are small and do not cause any problems. Sometimes they do not need treatment. You will usually need tests like blood tests and sometimes an ultrasound scan to find out what is causing your goitre. If it is caused by a health condition like an underactive or overactive thyroid, it can usually be treated with medicines. If your goitre is making breathing and swallowing difficult, you may have surgery to remove some or all of your thyroid.