The cause of Graves’ disease is unclear, it is said to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors. A person is more likely to get Graves’ disease if they have a family member with the disease. Graves' disease may have its onset after depression, external stress or in other instances, it may follow a viral infection or pregnancy. Many times the exact cause of Graves' disease is simply not known. It is not contagious, although it has been known to occur coincidentally between husbands and wives. 80% of women were affected by graves disease, 20% of men were affected.
What Graves’ disease does to a person is it causes the immune system to …show more content…
Hyperthyroidism and antithyroid medications are used to help your thyroid glands make less thyroid hormones, some medications used for this are Tapazol and Propyl-Thyracil. Radioactive iodine is taken either as a liquid or in capsule form and is used to destroy the thyroid gland or any other thyroid cells. The duration of the treatment can be extended to 8-18 months. The surgery that is mainly used for Graves’ disease is called Thyroidectomy. This is a procedure that removes a portion or all of the thyroid gland. If you have had radioactive iodine treatment or surgery, you will need to take replacement thyroid hormones for the rest of your