Addison’s Disease

Addison’s disease is defined as the adrenal insufficiency in which there is a lack of the adrenal hormone, secreted from the glands, located above both kidneys. It occurs in all people regardless of gender and age and it causes life-threatening complications

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of this disease usually appear slowly over a long period of time until a severe injury occurs. Following are the sign and symptoms of this diseases

Salt cravings
Nausea, diarrhea
Low blood pressure
Fatigue and malaise
Hyperpigmentation of skin
Low blood sugar

Causes

The adrenal gland consists of the inner and outer portions. The inner section is called the medulla, secrete adrenaline-like hormones and the outer section is called cortex which secretes a group of a hormone called corticosteroids which included mineralocorticoids, glucocorticoids, and sex hormone called androgens. Cause of adrenal gland failure included:

Infections which affect the gland
Tuberculosis
Spread of cancer to the gland
hemorrhage into the gland
Certain drugs

Complications

Complications of the adrenal gland is an adrenal crisis which is a life-threatening condition if you don’t take any treatment for it, it can cause low blood pressure and low blood sugar level and high blood potassium level.

Prevention

It is not a preventable disease but you can avoid the complications like Addisonian crisis by taking the following steps:

Go to your primary caretaker if you feel tired, weak, and fatigue.
If you become sick and starts vomiting and can’t take your medicines

Diagnosis

For the diagnostic purpose your doctor may recommend the following tests:

ACTH stimulation test
Insulin-induced hypoglycemia test
Blood test
Imaging test to see any tumor or mass at kidneys

Treatment

Treatment options contain medication only either injectable or oral. Following are the treatment option for adrenal insufficiency:

Hydrocortisone acetate
Prednisone
Glucocorticoid injections
Saline solution for adrenal crisis
Sugar(dextrose)

Addison’s Disease