The growth and development of children includes the progressive growth of height and weight and the maturation of organ and tissue function. During this period, many factors can affect physical growth and development, including congenital genetics, maternal pregnancy conditions (intrauterine growth retardation), Turner syndrome, acquired nutrition, disease, environmental changes, lifestyle, psychology, and many other aspects.
The next diseases are precocious puberty, hypothyroidism, abnormal adrenocortical function, idiopathic dwarfism, and less-than-gestational-age children and abnormal bone development can cause dwarfism.
The first disease that affects height is short stature caused by growth hormone deficiency or underproduction. The final height of the child as an adult may be only about 1.30 meters. Growth hormone deficiency is a growth disorder in children caused by insufficient secretion of growth hormone from the anterior pituitary gland, which does not provide the micronutrients needed for height growth.
The pituitary gland is located in the human cranium and its anterior lobe secretes a hormone called growth hormone. This hormone promotes anabolic metabolism, which leads to the proliferation and multiplication of various tissue cells in the body, resulting in the growth and development of various parts of the body and causing the individual to grow taller. When the anterior pituitary gland does not function adequately, it can lead to short stature caused by growth hormone deficiency, also known as dwarfism.
Causes according to Chinese medicine
Chinese medicine believes that the cause of short stature is mainly due to congenital deficiency of endowment, deficiency of regulation and nourishment in the later life, and deficiency of kidney and spleen.
The congenital factors include race, parents, and fetal condition; the acquired factors include social conditions, climate, geography, nutrition, age, physical exercise, disease, medication, and mental factors.
The kidney is the main bone and marrow producer, and has the ability to promote bone growth and development. If the congenital fetal endowment is weak, the kidney essence is deficient, the bone marrow biochemical lack of source, can not well nourish the bones, then the birth is underweight (small child), less than 2.5kg, length less than 49-50cm.
The spleen and the stomach are the “essence of the latter” and the “source of Qi and blood biochemistry”, and the nutrition required for the growth and development of children depends on the spleen and stomach to transport water, grain, essence and Qi and blood to supply. If the spleen and stomach are damaged as a result of a poor diet, inappropriate life or disease, the source of transformation will be insufficient and the five organs will lose nourishment, which will affect the normal growth and development of the child and lead to dwarfism.
Therefore, the congenital endowment of the kidney is sufficient, and the nourishment of the spleen and stomach is appropriate, as stated in Suwen? Shanggu Tianzhen said: “women seven years old, kidney gas, teeth more hair long; two seven and the day sebum to, any vein through, Tai Chong pulse Sheng, menstruation to time down, so there are children …… husband eight years old, kidney gas real, hair long teeth more; two eight kidney gas, the day sebum to, essence overflow write, Yin and Yang, so can have children. ” The development process of the child described and the age of maturity of male and female development. The child appears vigorous, rapid development, such as the rising sun, the grass and trees of the party sprouting, flourishing, thriving physiological phenomenon.
What are the basic rules for children to grow taller?
Height represents the sum of the length of the head, spine and lower limbs. Human growth and development is a dynamic process with continuity and complexity, beginning with the union of sperm and egg and ending at the end of puberty.
There are two periods of fastest growth and development in a person’s life, namely infancy and puberty. Infancy is the period from birth to 1 week of age, during which the height grows by 25 cm, which is the fastest growing period in a person’s life. During adolescence, a sudden increase in growth occurs, and the annual growth rate of height is generally 3 to 5%. The annual value-added is generally 57 cm, and individual can reach 10 to 12 cm. After puberty, height growth basically stops.
How to detect short height in children early?
Referring to the height standard comparison table, a child whose height is lower than one standard deviation is mildly slow growth and should be alerted to it, and a child whose height is lower than two standard deviations is stunted growth and should be seen at a hospital.
The other one is a slow growth rate of height, which is visually measured to be half a head shorter than children of the same age. If your child grows less than 7 cm per year in infancy (up to 3 years old) or 4-5 cm per year in childhood (3 years old to adolescence), you should go to the hospital.
Regular medical checkups can help parents understand the developmental status of their children’s height and weight, and identify any problems in their children’s growth process in time for early detection, early diagnosis and early intervention.
Is the child’s height shorter than that of children of the same age “late growth”?
Many studies have confirmed that there is a pattern of growth and development in children, with the fastest growth rate during adolescence. Early growth and late growth refers to the early or late start of puberty. During puberty, the second period of rapid growth in life occurs, and each child’s height grows relatively quickly. Some children who develop earlier during puberty will grow first; those who develop later during puberty will grow later. After puberty, the child’s bones will mature and the epiphysis will close, so the child’s height will no longer grow, and any method will be futile.
If your child does not grow at all within a year or two after entering puberty, don’t blindly wait for the so-called “late growth”, otherwise your child will miss the best treatment period, so that your child can no longer grow taller and regret for life. Every parent should learn to observe their children’s height growth, and take them to the hospital as soon as possible when their annual growth rate is lower than the following figures: less than 7 cm/year before the age of 3, less than 5 cm/year from the age of 3 to puberty, and less than 6 cm/year during puberty.
What kind of tests do children with short stature need to undergo in the hospital?
Usually, some routine tests such as height and weight measurement, bone age film, growth hormone exercise test, growth hormone stimulation test, IGF-1, IGFBP3, thyroid function, sex hormones, chromosomes, pituitary gland CT or MRI, ultrasound, etc. will be done in the hospital.
What is the significance of bone age for the child? Is it harmful to the child?
Bone age is the age of the skeleton and is not the same as the biological age. It is determined by the degree of calcification of a child’s bones. Bone age is a more accurate reflection of the level of development at each age in the process from birth to full maturity. If the age is greater than the bone age, it indicates that the child has growth retardation; if the age is less than the bone age, it indicates that the child is precocious, etc.
Doctors will determine a child’s growth potential based on the epiphyseal closure shown on the bone age film, and can also analyze and diagnose problems in endocrine diseases, developmental disorders, nutritional disorders, hereditary diseases and metabolic diseases based on the bone age. Once the epiphysis closes, growth stops.
Bone age is determined by X-ray, which is usually best done on the wrist, and is simple and harmless.
How to determine early sexual maturity?
In our country, we generally consider the sexual development of girls before the age of 8 and boys before the age of 9 to be precocious sexual development, with girls showing breast development and boys showing testicular enlargement. Parents should be able to detect this as long as they are careful in their daily life. If you see a bump or hard lump in the breast area, or if your child feels breast pain without notice, or if your boy’s testicles are obviously enlarged, you should pay attention to it.
What are the main dangers of precocious puberty?
There are two main aspects: one, the impact on adult height. Due to premature sexual development, under the action of sex hormones, height grows rapidly, but at the same time, it promotes premature fusion of epiphysis, so that height growth is terminated earlier than normal development of children, and most of them are shorter than normal when they reach adulthood.
Second, the adverse psychological impact on the child. As a result of premature development, children always feel that they are different from other children and may have some psychological problems. In addition, sexual development is significantly more advanced than mental development, and the child may have abnormal behavior or become an easy target of aggression.
Precocious puberty accounts for a certain percentage of dwarfism. That is to say, children with precocious puberty tend to be taller than normal children of the same age, that is to say, they are 10 years old at this time, and all the students in their class are 10 years old, but their bone age may be 13 years earlier. The final height is short, so children with precocious puberty or early puberty, the most important impact of early bone age on the final height of the child becomes short.
What should parents do if they find out that their child has precocious puberty?
If parents suspect that their child has precocious puberty, they should take their child to the hospital for consultation and medical treatment. If the child is diagnosed with precocious puberty, parents should not only actively cooperate with the doctor for treatment, but also give the child care and love in all aspects, and provide appropriate sex education to make the child understand the real situation of his or her disease and eliminate mental stress. If formal treatment can be carried out early, it basically does not affect the normal development of the child.
Is it possible that some children with delayed growth have “late growth”?
This is a physical growth delay, which is often referred to as late growth. They are short in stature during childhood, but grow vigorously during adolescence. Maybe other girls have developed their breasts, but she may still look like a small “turnip head”. This kind of physical growth delay may have a family history. The child’s parents may be like this, and such children often have a family history of delayed physical growth. Such a child belongs to a deviant developmental population within normal children.
We suggest that the child should go to a pediatric endocrinologist because you can’t be sure that your child has a somatic developmental delay, but we must first determine the disease condition to define the child as having a somatic developmental delay. You can observe his growth and bone age. Maybe he will grow up when he catches up with his bone age at the time of youthful initiation, but some children have partial growth hormone deficiency.
How should I treat my child if he is really short in stature?
If parents feel that their child is short, they should first go to the hospital to find out the cause. Short stature can sometimes be a sign of a disease, such as growth hormone deficiency, Turner syndrome, hypothyroidism, etc. When short stature is monitored by bone age, treatment should be directed at the cause. However, regardless of the cause of short stature, growth hormone can be applied to achieve the purpose of height increase. Currently, the US FDA has approved growth hormone to treat precocious puberty, growth hormone deficiency, Turner syndrome, intrauterine growth retardation, small for gestational age children, and many other conditions that affect height.
Can I trust the many height enhancement products available on the market?
At present, there are a variety of height increasing drugs and growth foods on the market that contain sex hormones, etc. Under the stimulation of sex hormones, children will experience a short period of accelerated growth. Sex hormones are hormones that promote skeletal maturation, which will shorten the growth years of children, advance the development of bone age and close the epiphysis early, which will instead lead to a shortened growth time and will result in a shorter final height in adulthood.
When is it appropriate to treat short stature?
There are two main reasons for this. One is that at a young age, the bone growth potential is high, the absorption capacity is strong, and the treatment effect is obvious. The second reason is that the dose of growth hormone is proportional to the body weight, and the younger the age, then the less dose is needed, which to some extent also saves money.
Parents of children who have just entered puberty (around 13 years old) are especially reminded that if they are concerned about their child’s height development, they should seek immediate medical attention, otherwise growth will be limited as the bone age approaches maturity, which may cause lifelong regret.
How to promote healthy natural growth in children?
A balanced and nutritious diet, combined with insisting on proper exercise and ensuring adequate and high-quality sleep are the three most effective assets. It is not difficult to make your child grow taller and stronger.
First, master the principles of diet
A balanced diet should be observed. Protein is the main raw material for growth and growth, should ensure a certain amount of supply every day, protein mainly exists in animal food such as lean meat, fish, shrimp and other seafood, animal offal, eggs, milk, soy products are also ideal sources of high quality protein. Second, parents should provide their children with enough calcium to help their bones grow. Milk is the most ideal source of calcium, and it is best to ensure about 500ml per day; soy juice, shrimp and various vegetables also contain more calcium. Various vitamins and trace elements are also vital to promote growth and development, especially zinc, so children should be allowed to eat more fresh vegetables, fruits, seafood, and appropriate nuts to provide adequate vitamins and trace elements. In order to provide the energy and nutrients needed for growth and development, the demand for calories is relatively high. Second, parents set an example by not favoring food. Many studies have pointed out that children’s eating habits from childhood are most influenced by their parents. Director Ye believes that to make children grow well, not to favor food is the most basic principle. When parents match their children with three meals, try to vary as much as possible, so that children can try a variety of foods from an early age. The variety of foods consumed, there is no need to worry about the lack of nutrients needed for growth. Third, avoid making children fat or dieting to lose weight. Director Ye pointed out that obese children because of excessive intake of calories, fat and sugar, resulting in faster progress in bone age than the actual age, although the initial height than other children outstanding, but because the growth period is early and compressed, the future may not be able to grow taller. It is very simple to prevent children from gaining weight, as long as they limit the number of times they eat high-calorie foods such as burgers and fries, and drink less sugary and carbonated drinks, with regular exercise, there will be no problem of obesity.
Adhere to appropriate exercise
Choose some physical exercises that are suitable for children’s physical condition and stick to them, which are good for bone development. For example, bar exercise is good for the development of the vertebrae and upper and lower limbs. In addition, jogging or jumping high, long jump or jumping rope is also good for growth. Appropriate exercise for a while before going to bed, such as jumping rope for 10 minutes, will make the child in the sleep process to secrete more growth hormone. There is a close relationship between growth and climate. The ultraviolet rays of the sun can promote the formation of vitamin D in the body, and vitamin D can promote the absorption of calcium, which plays an important role in the development of bones. Take your child outdoors or sunbathe more often, which is good for the development of bones.
Get enough quality sleep.
Growth hormone, the hormone that promotes human growth, is secreted three times more during sleep than during wakefulness, and the peak of growth hormone secretion is between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. The secretion increases 35 to 45 minutes after sleep. High quality sleep means that your child’s sleep quality should be good, deep sleep should be long enough, and that the muscles relax during sleep, which is good for joint and bone stretching. This will allow your child to grow taller each day as he or she sleeps. To make your child sleep deeply, you need to develop a regular habit of going to bed and getting up on time.
Does Chinese medicine have any solutions for children with short stature?
Children with short stature often have inadequate food intake, which is due to digestive dysfunction resulting in anorexia nervosa, and cannot meet the needs of growth and development, manifesting as stunted growth, short stature, very poor physique, and susceptible to other diseases. Chinese medicine can be used to treat the cause of the disease, enhance the function of the digestive tract, adjust nutrition, etc. The Chinese medicine Ginseng and Atractylodes, Chicken Neijin and Baohe Pill have the effect of strengthening the spleen and awakening the stomach, promoting the absorption function of the digestive tract and enhancing the child’s appetite to prevent malnutrition, which affects the child’s growth. Chinese herbs also have the function of benefiting Qi and strengthening the surface of the body and improving immunity, thus reducing the occurrence of diseases in children and enabling them to grow up healthily. Chinese herbal medicine can also be used to treat the symptoms
Liver and kidney deficiency – the treatment is to nourish the liver and kidney, fill the essence and replenish the marrow. Add and reduce the amount of Kidney and Earth Pill. Commonly used herbs: Radix Rehmanniae, Cornu Cervi Pantotrichum, Deer antler, Wujia Pi, Shan Yao, Fu Ling, Ze Di Di, Dan Pi.
Heart and spleen deficiency – To strengthen the spleen and nourish the heart, and tonify the qi and blood. Use Tong Yuan San plus or minus. Ginseng, Radix Astragali, Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae, Rhizoma Yam, Poria, Glycyrrhiza Glabra, Radix Angelicae Sinensis, Radix Rehmanniae Praeparata, Radix Paeoniae Alba, Rhizoma Ligustici Chuanxiong, Calamus.
Qi and Blood deficiency – Benefit Qi and nourish Blood. Eight Precious Soup plus or minus. Commonly used medicines: Astragalus, Radix Codonopsis; Atractylodes, Poria, Radix Angelicae Sinensis, Radix Rehmanniae, Radix Paeoniae Alba, Rhizoma Polygonati, Radix Bupleuri, etc.
What should parents pay most attention to when their children are in the growth and development stage?
Just give attention, regular physical examination, height measurement, early detection and early diagnosis; do not seek medical advice blindly, you should go to the pediatric department or endocrinology department of a regular hospital to consult a doctor engaged in endocrine diseases.