Delayed Puberty

Delayed Puberty – General Information

Puberty is the period when a child’s body grows to become the one of an adult. Therefore, a child knows when he experiences puberty when he notices different changes of his body. In the case of a girl, the breasts start to grow, hair starts to appear in the pubic area and her menstruation starts. The general appearance will also change and the body will look curvier. In the case of a boy, facial and pubic hair will start to appear, the penis and the testicles will grow bigger and the body shape will also change and it will look more muscular. All these changes are caused, in the case of girls and boys by the organism’s sex hormones. During puberty, the body starts to produce a bigger quantity of these hormones (estrogen in girls and testosterone in boys).

Puberty appears between 8 and 14 years for girls and between 10 and 16 for boys. Delayed puberty appears when a child passes this age range without experiencing any of the changes presented above. There are several medical conditions and reasons why Delayed Puberty appears; in most of the cases, it is just a model of development and growth in the family. This is why a boy or a girl with this problem may find out that another relative (uncle, aunt, sister, bother, cousin) has experienced this disorder as well. In this case, the child will finally develop in a normal way, without any medical intervention. This particular form of Delayed Puberty is also called constitutional delay.

Delayed Puberty – Symptoms

Delayed Puberty – Treatment

If a child presents one or more of the symptoms and signs described above, the parents should visit a doctor in order to obtain a sure diagnosis. The doctor will probably inform about his medical history of the child, about his eating habits, the activities he performs, some possible allergies, the growing models of his relatives or about the medicines and drugs he had been taking recently. In addition to these, the doctor will probably recommend some tests: Blood test: in order to obtain information about an internal disease, such as diabetes or anemia and about any chromosome abnormalities. X-ray test: this way the doctor will be able to visualize the internal tissues, the organs and the bones. In addition, the doctor can also determinate the maturity of the bones. Tomography scan: this offers information about any part of the body (bones, organs and muscles) and it is more detailed and more precisely than a regular x-ray test. Resonance imaging: this test uses a combination of radiofrequencies, magnets and a computer in order to generate precise images of certain structures and organs inside the body.

In most of the cases, doctors can help the young teenagers to deal with Delayed Puberty. If, after the doctor has performed the tests he finds no internal problem, he will probably recommend the parents to establish an equilibrated diet for the child and no other medical intervention. On the other hand, if the doctor finds an internal problem, he will probably recommend the parents to consult a pediatric endocrinologist. In this case, the fist measure which will be probably taken is to prescribe the child some hormones. He will take these hormones for a few months, until his body starts to produce the hormones itself. This way, the Delayed Puberty will be treated and the growing process will continue in a normal way. Another important aspect which must be taken into consideration when dealing with Delayed Puberty is the emotional condition of the child. It is quite difficult for a young teenager to watch his friends growing and developing and to notice that he suffers no changes at all. He will have to deal with the mean comments of his friends and he will have to find a way to adapt and to get over his feelings of inferiority. From this point of view, Delayed Puberty is not only a medical problem, but an emotional one too.
In the case of children who suffer from Delayed Puberty and who start to feel depressed and to have problems at school, the parents should hake him to some therapy session. If the child refuses to talk with a stranger about his problems, then the parents must find a way to communicate with him and to solve his problems. The child has to learn how to deal with his feelings. However, this disorder is treatable in most of the cases and the child must be patient and he must ask for help whenever he needs it. He should also understand that, sooner or later, he will look the same as his friends.