Table of contents:
Sometimes, children still don't feel the changes when they reach puberty. Unless the delay in physical development is caused by certain medical conditions, your doctor can help suggest the best treatment for your teenager who is not yet showing signs of puberty.
The pediatrician can show your child if the testicles are enlarged, one of the first signs of puberty that often goes unnoticed. Enlarged testicles in men indicate that the reproductive system is active and sexual maturity will follow. Generally, parents worry that their children are not fully grown. However, doctors can check and determine whether the puberty process has been running or not.
The doctor's examination will also calm the child so that he doesn't have to worry about his growth and development process. And if it is found a delay in puberty, the doctor will usually suggest some of the following solutions.
Sex hormone therapy
It is rare for doctors to recommend sex hormone therapy, even after an in-depth examination of a child. Sex hormone therapy is an artificial impulse for the child's body to start the stage of sexual maturity. However, this therapy will be recommended if a child has shown signs of puberty but has not started to grow. Another consideration for using this drug is if the late puberty has an emotional and social impact on the child.
Boys will receive testosterone injections, while girls will be prescribed estrogen and progesterone tablets. The dosage will be adjusted to the levels of sex hormones produced by normal adolescent bodies. Hormone therapy is just a small encouragement for your child to start puberty. Once puberty has started, the doctor will gradually stop the dose and allow the body to adjust to the natural puberty process.
Growth hormone therapy
Growth hormone or growth hormone (GH) is a chemical compound produced by the pituitary gland in the brain and released throughout the body. Some children have a pituitary gland that is not working properly, so it only releases a small amount of growth hormone. This condition is called hypopituitarism, or dwarfism. Synthetic growth hormone injections have been shown to help many people grow to the adult height expected of their offspring.
Short stature has other causes besides growth hormone deficiency. Initially, many believed that only people who have very low levels of endogenous growth hormone (produced by the body) can react to growth hormone therapy, However, synthetic products also have benefits for teens on kidney dialysis while they await a kidney transplant. So it is with adolescents with Turner syndrome. Girls who have Turner syndrome continue to produce growth hormone, but their bodies are immune to it.
So, what prevents a person from taking hormone therapy? There are several experiences where parents want their children to receive hormone therapy, even though this step is actually considered inappropriate to deal with the child's problem. Doctors should explain that in general, growth hormone therapy is given only to children who have been diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency due to a failing pituitary gland.
Apart from hypopituitarism, chronic renal failure, and Turner syndrome, the use of growth hormone therapy is classified as investigational only. The insurance company will not cover the cost of experimental treatment, and it is very expensive for 6-7 subcutaneous injections per week for 5-6 years. Growth hormone therapy can cost an average of around 400 million rupiah per year.
Here are two other reasons: short-term therapy only produces temporary effects, may not even produce anything, but synthetic growth hormone has been on the market since the mid-80s and so far it is not known what the long-term effects are. For this reason, it feels useless if therapy is carried out without strong medical reasons. After all, genetics is the most powerful determinant of shape and height, compared to artificial growth hormone. If the maximum growth potential of a child can reach 180 cm, but both parents are short, then it is likely that the child will grow short as well.
x
