Hormonal Imbalance- How worse can it get?
What are hormones?
Hormones are chemicals regulatory substances produced by specialized glands and transported in the body fluids such as blood to control and regulate the activity of certain cells and organs. Specialized glands that secret these hormones are called endocrine glands. Hormones can create physiological and behavioral changes also in a human’s body. When the hormones are transported to the target site in another part of the organism, elicit a particular response.
Classification of hormones
Hormones are classified into three categories-
- Peptide hormones
- Steroid hormones
Peptide Hormones- Peptide hormones are the hormones that are made up of amino acids that are created by the endocrine system and distributed to target organs through fluids.
Steroid Hormones- The natural steroid hormones are naturally from cholesterol in the gonads and adrenal glands. In addition, steroids are chemicals that act as steroids hormones.
Hormonal Imbalance
This condition occurs when there are too much or too few hormones in the blood. They play an important role in the human body that is why even small imbalances can cause side effects throughout the body.
Symptoms of Hormonal Imbalance
- Weight gain
- Muscle weakness
- Pain, stiffness, or swelling of joints
- Excessive sweating
- Increased sensitivity to cold or heat
- Decreased sex drive
- Depression
- Nervousness, anxiety, or irritability
- Blurred vision
- Infertility
- Thinning hair or fine, brittle hair
- Dry skin
- Puffy face
- Rounded face
- Purple or pink stretch marks
Hormonal Imbalance Effects
Hormonal imbalance effects may get worse than anything else. Furthermore, they vary from age to age or from hormones to hormones. Here are some-
- Gigantism
- Acromegaly
- Thyroid
- Grave’s Disease
- Addison’s Disease
- Cushing’s Syndrome
Gigantism
In this condition, there is excessive secretion of growth hormones. The rate of growth of the body increases than the normal rate. Also, all the body tissues including bones grow rapidly.
Acromegaly
This is a condition where growth hormone is excess even after adolescence i.e. 18 years. At this condition, the person doesn’t grow taller but he/she grows width-wise because the bone becomes thick and tissues are growing continuously.
Thyroid
The thyroid is a condition that is caused due to the hormonal imbalance of thyroid hormones. Here are two conditions of thyroid-
Hyperthyroidism- It is due to the excessive secretion of thyroid hormones T3 and T4. This excess secretion of thyroid hormone is due to thyroid Adenoma, Grave’s disease, and Nodular goitre.
Hypothyroidism- This condition is due to the decreased level or deficiency of thyroid hormone.
Grave’s Disease
It is an autoimmune disorder in which the body produced antibodies that stimulate the growth of the thyroid gland and also the secretion of thyroid hormones.
Addison’s Disease
It is the condition where the secretion of hormones decreased from the adrenal cortex due to atrophy of the cortices. So, this atrophy is caused by
- Autoimmunity
- By tuberculosis
Cushing’s Syndrome
This is the condition where the secretion of hormones increased from the adrenal cortex. However, this condition is opposite to the above condition.
- Adenomas of the adrenal cortex.
- Abnormal functions of the hypothalamus.
- Secretion of ACTH by a tumor.
Conclusion
To sum up, hormones can be secreted from any glands that are a part of the body’s endocrine system. Also, each gland produces a set of specific hormones. Apart from knowing that hormones can be part of different chemical classes, it is also important to know the most important hormones by name and, of course, to know what functions they perform in the human body. Treatment for these conditions is possible in both men and women but may come with some level of side effects. In addition to the conventional treatment options, natural remedies can also help reduce the severity of such a condition and to treat it without having to opt for conventional therapies that may lead to unwanted adverse reactions.
