Check Your Neck

Jan­u­ary is Thy­roid Aware­ness Month

An esti­mat­ed 15 mil­lion Amer­i­cans have undi­ag­nosed thy­roid prob­lems. To help with ear­ly detec­tion and in some cas­es help you find lumps or enlarge­ments in the neck that may point to a thy­roid con­di­tion, you can per­form a sim­ple Neck Check self-exam. Here is a step-by-step guide from thy​roidaware​ness​.com

You will need a:
1. Hand­held mir­ror
2. Glass of water

STEP 1

Hold the mir­ror in your hand, focus­ing on the low­er front area of your neck, above the col­lar­bones, and below the voice box (lar­ynx). Your thy­roid gland is locat­ed in this area of your neck.

STEP 2

While focus­ing on this area in the mir­ror, tip your head back.

STEP 3

Take a drink of water and swallow.

STEP 4

As you swal­low, look at your neck. Check for any bulges or pro­tru­sions in this area

Reminder: Don’t con­fuse the Adam’s apple with the thy­roid gland. The thy­roid gland is locat­ed fur­ther down on your neck, clos­er to the collarbone.

You may want to repeat this process sev­er­al times.

STEP 5

If you do see any bulges or pro­tru­sions, con­tact your pri­ma­ry care provider. You may have an enlarged thy­roid gland or a thy­roid nod­ule that should be checked to deter­mine whether fur­ther eval­u­a­tion is needed.

If you need a pri­ma­ry care provider, give us a call at (217)222‑6550.

To learn more about your thy­roid, check out www​.thy​roidaware​ness​.com.