What is Addison's disease ?
Addison's disease in the adrenal glands make too little of different hormones.
The adrenal glands are glands that lie on top of your kidneys. The adrenal glands make steroids, such as aldosterone, cortisol and sex.
-Aldosterone: remove salt from your blood, the kidneys and carry it with urine. Aldosterone ensures that you do not lose too much salt via the kidneys. Because so your blood pressure would be very low.
-Cortisol: This plays a role in the immune system (immune system), with exertion and stress. Cortisol is important for proper control of blood sugar (blood glucose).
-Sex is mainly made in the ovaries and the testes, but also in the adrenal cortex. For example, sex creates menstruation, breast development and body hair.
Addison's disease usually occurs by an autoimmune disease. That is, the body produces antibodies against itself. In Addison's disease refers to antibodies against the adrenal glands. Therefore make your adrenal glands too few hormones.
Addison's disease is very rare. The disease is twice as common in women than in men.
What are the symptoms of Addison's disease?
The most prominent symptoms of Addison's disease are:
-A brown discoloration of the face, hand lines and gums
-Big appetite for salty foods
Other symptoms are:
-Long-term mental and physical fatigue
-Great need for sleep (you can still sleep all day)
-Weakness and risk of drying out
-Besides the brown discoloration sometimes actually white patches on the skin (vitiligo)
-Weight loss by reducing appetite and fluid loss
-Nausea, vomiting, and thereby likely to dry out
-Sometimes just hunger attacks with dizziness, a sick feeling in the stomach and sweating (by low blood sugar)
-Palpitations / rapid heart rate
-Muscle pain, weakness, muscle cramps
-Menstrual changes
-Hair loss: women especially loss of pubic and underarm hair, men especially loss of scalp hair
-Sometimes depression or forgetfulness
Addison crisis
Sometimes cortisol fever or stress can be so low that you become very sick. We call that a Addison crisis. This can cause unconsciousness and life-threatening.
Characteristics of an Addison crisis include vomiting, nausea, abdominal cramps and diarrhea, headache, neck pain, fever, chills, absence, drowsiness, fainting and unconsciousness.
What is the treatment of Addison's disease?
Addison's disease is not curable. The lack of hormones of the adrenal cortex should be supplemented by taking daily pills
How much medicine you should use per day depends on your situation.
In the following situations you need. More medications This mainly to cortisol:
In case of illness or injury (fever, infections, surgery)
By prolonged physical activity (endurance sports such as cycling or running)
By emotional stress, such as job loss, bankruptcy or death of a loved one
Talk with your doctor about the dosage.
In an Addison crisis you get medication administered rapidly through a drip. It is therefore important that you have an SOS bracelet or -pendant that people can see that you have Addison's disease. If you are not approachable, rescuers still know exactly what they have to give you.
Addison's disease in the adrenal glands make too little of different hormones.
The adrenal glands are glands that lie on top of your kidneys. The adrenal glands make steroids, such as aldosterone, cortisol and sex.
-Aldosterone: remove salt from your blood, the kidneys and carry it with urine. Aldosterone ensures that you do not lose too much salt via the kidneys. Because so your blood pressure would be very low.
-Cortisol: This plays a role in the immune system (immune system), with exertion and stress. Cortisol is important for proper control of blood sugar (blood glucose).
-Sex is mainly made in the ovaries and the testes, but also in the adrenal cortex. For example, sex creates menstruation, breast development and body hair.
Addison's disease usually occurs by an autoimmune disease. That is, the body produces antibodies against itself. In Addison's disease refers to antibodies against the adrenal glands. Therefore make your adrenal glands too few hormones.
Addison's disease is very rare. The disease is twice as common in women than in men.
What are the symptoms of Addison's disease?
The most prominent symptoms of Addison's disease are:
-A brown discoloration of the face, hand lines and gums
-Big appetite for salty foods
Other symptoms are:
-Long-term mental and physical fatigue
-Great need for sleep (you can still sleep all day)
-Weakness and risk of drying out
-Besides the brown discoloration sometimes actually white patches on the skin (vitiligo)
-Weight loss by reducing appetite and fluid loss
-Nausea, vomiting, and thereby likely to dry out
-Sometimes just hunger attacks with dizziness, a sick feeling in the stomach and sweating (by low blood sugar)
-Palpitations / rapid heart rate
-Muscle pain, weakness, muscle cramps
-Menstrual changes
-Hair loss: women especially loss of pubic and underarm hair, men especially loss of scalp hair
-Sometimes depression or forgetfulness
Addison crisis
Sometimes cortisol fever or stress can be so low that you become very sick. We call that a Addison crisis. This can cause unconsciousness and life-threatening.
Characteristics of an Addison crisis include vomiting, nausea, abdominal cramps and diarrhea, headache, neck pain, fever, chills, absence, drowsiness, fainting and unconsciousness.
What is the treatment of Addison's disease?
Addison's disease is not curable. The lack of hormones of the adrenal cortex should be supplemented by taking daily pills
How much medicine you should use per day depends on your situation.
In the following situations you need. More medications This mainly to cortisol:
In case of illness or injury (fever, infections, surgery)
By prolonged physical activity (endurance sports such as cycling or running)
By emotional stress, such as job loss, bankruptcy or death of a loved one
Talk with your doctor about the dosage.
In an Addison crisis you get medication administered rapidly through a drip. It is therefore important that you have an SOS bracelet or -pendant that people can see that you have Addison's disease. If you are not approachable, rescuers still know exactly what they have to give you.