Children's health always comes first in any caring parents. Increasingly, you can find various abnormalities in the body, including endocrine diseases in children. This is due to many factors and requires constant monitoring and planned treatment. Let's consider the peculiarities of diseases, how to diagnose them.
How to identify abnormalities in the endocrine system
To diagnose a disease on time, you must constantly monitor your child's health. If he has little or much to eat, weighs more or less than the norm, is too active or, conversely, can hardly rearrange his legs, all this can be a symptom of a disruption in the functioning of the endocrine system.
There are several deviations that immediately help to identify the endocrine system in children:
- Watch for the health of the young girl. If menstruation started too early( 8-9 years) or late( by 15 and never started) - this is a serious reason to contact the endocrinologist. In the same period, other deviations may appear, which are associated with the appearance of increased vegetation, even in places where they should not be. Such processes indicate an increased level of testosterone.
- In the health of young men, one should monitor the scalp in the genital area. If it appears too early, it is a sign of a hormonal breakdown.
- You should also follow the sudden jumps in weight in the child or an unexpected stop of growth.
At occurrence of any alarming symptom, even is he will not concern an endocrine system, and only will arise because of your fears, consultation of the endocrinologist superfluous will not be. Moreover, even diabetes mellitus diagnose all at an earlier age.
Diseases of the endocrine system in children are observed by an endocrinologist. There are two main types - diabetes mellitus and thyroid gland diseases, which give a hormonal failure in the body.
How to detect diabetes mellitus
Endocrine disorders in children can cause the appearance of such an unpleasant and incurable disease as diabetes. If your child drinks more than 6 liters of fluid per day - it is an alarming symptom, in which you should urgently go to the endocrinologist.
The disease can be either hereditary or not. If you miss the beginning and course of the disease, then it leads to a sugar coma. Lately, 20-30% of children have come to this state. Suffices only two to three weeks of the acute phase to get deplorable consequences.
First of all, pay attention to the following symptoms:
- consumes a lot of fluids, while the number of trips to the toilet does not increase;
- interrupts night sleep "on need", which was not previously;
- dramatically reduces weight;
- appearance of severe abdominal pain and vomiting;
- decreased or increased appetite;
- lethargy and behavior change.
If you get the first disorder from the list, you should immediately contact your doctor.
If diabetes is diagnosed and recognized as chronic, then all life will have to take the necessary drugs to maintain normal blood sugar.
Diabetes insipidus
Endocrine system diseases may have similar symptoms. So, diabetes insipidus is very similar to diabetes mellitus. Therefore, the child has thirst, vomiting may start and the temperature may rise. Small children can have a large gain in weight and a development gap.
How to recognize thyroid disease
If the child is too calm, this may indicate a lack of the necessary hormone in the thyroid( hypothyroidism).It can not be restored, it is necessary to drink tablets all life, filling the shortage.
At an early age, the symptoms of this disease can be:
- the child moves little;
- does not cry at night;
- dry skin;
- edematous tongue;
- does not make a lot of different sounds;
- did not learn to hold his head for three months.
All this indicates hypothyroidism.
If the thyroid gland does not function at full force and is smaller, over time, due to stress, the child may experience symptoms such as fatigue, learning is difficult, the baby is always cold, frequent constipation and swollen face, and dryhair.
In this case, hypothyroidism can occur absolutely at any age, more often in female representatives. Watch for the health of the child, perhaps he needs a doctor's consultation.
Other diseases associated with the endocrine system
Having considered the most common and requiring permanent treatment, it should be noted other types of abnormalities in the development of the child, which are associated with violations of the endocrine system.
- Obesity. There are several types of obesity, one of which is associated with the incorrect work of the endocrine system, in such cases, consultation of the endocrinologist is required. First of all, the child will be prescribed a diet. At the same time, it is necessary to constantly monitor its nutrition so that it is correct and timely. To weight loss can lead to hypothyroidism, hypogonadism and other diseases.
- Hypopituitarism. This disease is quite rare, because it is associated with the pathology of the pituitary gland. The main sign is a lag in growth or a sharp delay. This is due to a lack of hormone growth hormone. Usually this disease is noticed by a good pediatrician who follows the indications of a child's development. You can identify it by the end of the first year of life. The disease is not easy and requires constant monitoring, as well as taking hormonal drugs.
- Premature sexual development. Symptoms appear in girls under seven and in boys under eight. If you notice the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics or a sharp change in your physique, you should immediately consult a doctor. Such a disease can lead to a halt in growth. If you start treatment on time, then the prognosis is favorable.
- Delay in sexual development. If in adolescence your child has not ripened( 13-14 years), then you need to contact a specialist. Treatment is complex, normalizes nutrition, prescribe exercise therapy and vitamins.
- Goiter( euthyroid hyperplasia). There is an increase in the thyroid gland. If the genus was attended by people with a similar diagnosis, the risk of the disease is much higher. You will not find expressed complaints with such a diagnosis. To normalize the process, it is prescribed to take iodine.
- Autoimmune thyroiditis. The disease is often hereditary. The appearance of symptoms most often occurs for a period of three to six years. Usually occurs without any complaints, sometimes because of the increase in the size of the thyroid gland there may be difficulties in swallowing. It is difficult to cure, drugs are selected individually, sometimes they have to be used for life.
These are the most common diseases that occur most often in childhood due to disruption of the endocrine system. Watch your child's health carefully and pay attention to all changes in the body.
