Worried About Growth of Your Child? Know About HGH Test

Children are a constant source of joy for their parents and family in every stage of their lives. It won’t be an exaggeration if it is said that concern about the child’s well-being extends from its existence in the womb to its grave. This is the reason why the welfare and well-being of children for their parents is of utmost importance and priority.

Human-Growth-Harmone-For-Child-Growth
Monitoring proper growth and development of children gives parents idea about the health of their child. Any abnormalities in their growth pattern can also be detected at a proper time. This ensures that the child gets accurate and timely treatment.
Nowadays, there are extremely high end and highly precise diagnostic testing and growth tracking machineries available for parents. These facilities can be availed by parents from the time the child is in womb till the after-years when it grows. One such test that is helpful in this regards is HGH (Human Growth Hormone).

All you wanted to know about Human Growth Hormone (HGH) test

Human growth hormone is one of the few hormones secreted by pituitary gland. This gland is extremely instrumental in shaping growth of the child into a healthy adult.

Human growth hormone test, abbreviated as HGH test, needs to be done only if there are abnormalities in the child as mentioned further in this article. Whereas, Growth Hormone (GH) tests for adults are ordered by doctors to assess levels of HGH and other related hormones in the blood and to check if they are normal, increased, or decreased. This also helps predict health issues that may result from abnormal hormone levels or pituitary gland dysfunction. Ideal values of HGH in women are less than 10 ng/ml and in children they are less than 20 ng/ml. There are a variety of factors responsible to affect the derived values after testing. Few of them are as follows:

  • Being on anti-depressant medication
  • Being on certain medication like steroids
  • ​People who have low blood sugar and those who are on insulin

What are the causes of over production and under-production of HGH in human body:

  • ​ A severe head injury
  • ​ A tumor in your head or a history of pituitary tumors
  • ​ An infection
  • ​ Brain surgery
  • ​ Hormonal problems related to the hypothalamus gland or pituitary gland
  • ​ Poor blood supply to the pituitary gland
  • ​ Radiation treatments to your brain

So, how do you know whether your child is growing in an abnormal fashion?

Following parameters or symptoms in your child’s growth will make you know whether the child’s growth is abnormal:

1.​  Height – The child’s height is abnormally small.
2.​  Dwarfism – When the kid suffers from dwarfism, the overall growth and development of the child also suffers. For instance, the mental development doesn’t happen properly. In girls, the development of reproductive system does not take place properly. Likewise, in boys the genital organs do not develop as they should.
3.​  Bones – Children having abnormal growth have bones that are softened. There is muscular atrophy which is losing muscle tissue.
4.​  Muscle mass
5.​  Nutritional imbalance – Proper supply of nutrition and then its absorption is essential for the balanced growth of children. When there is nutritional imbalance, stunted growth is bound to occur showing up in the child’s appearance.
6.​  Puberty
7.​  Gigantism – This is a disorder wherein the child’s bone growth does not stop after he or she attains puberty. The child becomes abnormally tall in height.
8.​  Intrauterine Growth Retardation – It is a disorder occurring in fetus when it is still in its mother’s womb. The retardation or abnormal growth is visible through ultrasound. Babies suffering from such type of retardation are unusually small in weight and also in height at birth. They are comparatively short too.
9.​  Hypothyroidism – Enlarged shape of tongue, changes in facial appearance, stunted growth and an overall puffed skin are symptoms of hypothyroidism which in turn is a sign denoting abnormal growth in children.
10.​  Disproportionate growth – This disorder in medical terms is known as Achondroplasia and detectable in ultrasound scan done when the mother is in 6th month of pregnancy. Disproportionate growth is in form of a moderate sized and under-sized head and short limbs

Diagnosis of HGH deficiency in children

You need to consult a pediatrician or an endocrinologist if you happen to notice any of the above-mentioned points in your child. Based on what the actual issue is, doctors will start evaluating your child for a period ranging between 6-12 months.
Your doctor will first collect information related to any family health issue and make note of every family member’s height. Next, weight and height of the the concerned child from birth will be made note of. Past illness, or any other health or mental issue concerning the child will be noted.
The doctor will then perform a physical examination of your child and then take an X-ray (wrist & hand) for checking development of bone in comparison to chronological age and height.
Blood sample is then taken to check for any sign of gastrointestinal, bone and kidney diseases along with deficiency of thyroid hormone. An insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) in blood is measured. HGH acts as a stimulator for body tissues and liver for production of IGF-I. This IGF-I then works as a bridge between growth causing mechanism inside blood and growth hormone. The perfect measure of growth hormone is found with help of this measurement.
All the above mentioned factors help doctors evaluate the reason for growth issue in your child (if it really exists).

How is HGH deficiency treated?

Doctors often recommend taking two injections (shots) in a day of HGH. If your child is old enough, he/she can perform this task easily without help. This treatment is long lasting. All throughout, the concerned child needs to be monitored regularly by an endocrinologist or pediatrician. The dosage may be altered if need arises.
Care to be taken after HGH test
You can resume normal activities post HGH test as there are no major effects seen. A bandage is applied at the site where the IV is administered. If bruising or unusual bleeding is witnessed, this should be immediately reported to your doctor.
The doctor will carefully and closely monitor the concerned child and suggest tests for GH suppression or GH stimulation. Some activities may be limited by your pediatrician post test.

Are any risks associated with HGH test?

Though there are no significant risks involved with HGH test, some associated complications are as follows:
​ Due to intravenous line used, minor discomfort is experienced
​ Child becoming lethargic or light-headed due to low level of blood sugar resulting from insulin injection
​ Some children experience sweating, nervousness, sleepiness.
​ Severe hypoglycemia (low level of blood sugar) cases may lead to ketosis (excess byproducts or fatty acids in body), shock, or acidosis (acid based balance is disturbed)
Though the above risks are involved, close monitoring by your pediatrician or endocrinologist will take care of these.

On a final note…

Though it is incorrect, society somehow puts emphasis on a person’s height or weight. Additionally, kids who have a short height corresponding to their age, often face issues from classmates and sometimes even teachers. Unfortunately, even parents are seen to give less importance to such kids and have decreased expectations from such children. Due to all such things, concerned children are often depressed or stressed.
As a parent, you need to not ignore the ill effects your child may be facing due to abnormalities. Hence, along with emotional support, taking steps to cure your child’s HGH deficiency is important. The earlier you get your child treated, chances of his/her getting normal are more.

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