How is congenital hypothyroidism treated?
Congenital hypothyroidism is easily treated with a pill that is taken every day. A synthetic form of thyroxin hormone called thyroxin is given. It is a pill that is taken once a day, usually at about the same time of day. Even in young babies, thyroxin can be taken by placing the pill about half way back on the tongue and by encouraging the baby to swallow. This could be done by giving your baby a soother, bottle, or having them latch onto your breast after the pill is placed on their tongue. Some people prefer to syringe a few drops of sterile water into the baby’s mouth to help their baby swallow. If your baby has trouble swallowing the pill, then the endocrine nurse can suggest other ways of giving the thyroxin. The pill should be given before a feed, and should never be mixed with an entire feed (solid or liquid) in case the baby does not eat or drink the entire portion and misses out on part of the dose. If your baby vomits within a 1/2 hour of taking thyroxin, then the entire dos
