Early Adolescence in Children

Nowadays, one of the most worrisome concerns about the development process of children is the early adolescence. Questions such as: alar Does my child enter early puberty? Mı, “Should there be treatment? Liv Hospital Child Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases Specialist Dr. Cengiz Kara talked about early adolescence and treatment methods.


 

If left untreated, the height may remain short!

Families, especially with girls, have concerns about early breast development. The two sources of anxiety are the possibility of early menstruation and the idea that growth will stop with bleeding. The stress and distress that the child may experience during his or her age will feed this anxiety. Indeed, real early adolescence, which started at a very young age, carries all of these risks. If not diagnosed and treated on time, early puberty leads to premature closure of growth plates and shorter adulthood. However, early onset of adolescent symptoms does not always require treatment; there are cases where it is more appropriate to monitor adolescence in its natural course. Therefore, it is also important to distinguish between early adolescence processes that do not require and require treatment and to avoid unnecessary treatments.
 

In adolescence, the child's growth gets faster!

Internal and external reproductive organs (ovaries, uterus, vagina, penis) are the primary sex characteristics in girls and boys. Physical changes, such as hair growth and breast growth, as well as the growth of these organs by reaching the adult dimensions, form secondary sex characteristics. Adolescence is a phase of transition from childhood to adulthood, where secondary sex characteristics and reproductive capacity are gained. The most common first symptom is breast growth in girls and testicular growth in men. However, families may not notice testicular growth, and the first noticeable finding may be hair growth. In girls, hair can sometimes be the first sign of puberty in the genital area. After the first symptoms, 2-2.5 years after the first menstrual bleeding in girls and in men the production of sperm begins. In this process, the growth gradually accelerates and reaches its peak. In the next 2-2.5 years the growth gradually slows and stops with the closure of growth plates.
 

Adolescent age and progression varies according to child

Adolescence starts at the age of 10-11 years in girls and 11-12 years in boys. It takes 4-6 years to complete the physical changes and growth, and the length of the elongation usually stops at girls 15-16 and 17-18 at boys. However, age at onset and progression of adolescence vary greatly. Deviations of 2-3 years are possible according to the average ages mentioned above. Therefore, the age of entering adolescence varies between 8-13 years in girls and 9-14 years in boys. Adolescence that starts between these ages is considered normal.
 

Every early development does not mean early adolescence

Early adolescence is defined as the onset of secondary sex characteristics in girls 8 and in boys before the age of 9 years. In girls, before the age of 8, breast growth and hair growth, again in men before the age of 9 years before the start of testicular growth and hair. But every early development does not mean that there is a real early adolescence. There are partial forms of puberty in which only one of the symptoms of puberty is observed and other symptoms are not accompanied. For example, early breast development is most common in girls between 6 months and 2 years. This situation will resolve spontaneously without intervention in the majority of girls; in some cases it may progress to early puberty. Close monitoring is important in this process. Again, the most common occurrence in the genital region observed between the ages of 5-8 years is usually not a symptom of puberty unless there is any other finding. It is a condition caused by hormones secreted from the adrenal gland and is usually seen with the change of sweat odor. However, hair can sometimes be exaggerated. Adolescence processes of children with exaggerated hair should be monitored. Mostly, there is no problem requiring adolescence to be stopped. However, in the following years girls may experience problems such as excessive hair or menstrual irregularities.
 

Obesity in children can trigger puberty earlier

Nowadays, the problem of obesity due to overfeeding is a factor that shifts the puberty to both girls and boys. Early and early adolescence problems are more common in parallel with the increasing prevalence of obesity. Early adolescence refers to the onset of symptoms before the age of 9 in girls and 8 years in boys. The term belirt Erkence normal is used in the normal age range to indicate adolescence. The age of 8-9 years in girls and 9-10,5 years in boys is accepted as adolescence. Erkence adolescence is a slow course and can be seen independently of obesity. In this case, there is no progression of height and bone age. Obese children may have advanced age and bone age. Adolescent cure treatments do not have a positive effect on adult dyeing, whether they are overweight or normal. It is a more appropriate approach to monitor adolescence in its natural course. On the other hand, there are also real early puberty cases, which are observed in children aged 7 years and who require treatment, independent of nutritional status. In these children adolescence shows a rapid course; bone age progresses quickly and can not be interrupted adult size may remain short.
 

Don't worry immediately

Parents should not worry immediately when they observe signs of early adolescence in their children. Parents should know that their children may develop adolescents in relation to their genetic structure and nutritional status, and that it is not always necessary to stop adolescence by applying hormone therapy. It is recommended that parents be consulted with children's endocrine specialists to obtain support for a problem that requires intervention in adolescence