Growth hormone is not a “tiger” When it comes to using growth hormone, the first reaction of many parents is that growth hormone is a “hormone” and they are worried that their children will have adverse reactions if they use it for a long time. Therefore, many parents have repeatedly taken their children to many hospitals, but they have been hesitant to use growth hormone for their children: “Are there any side effects of growth hormone injections?” “Is it possible to grow taller by exercise and diet?” Regarding the safety of hormones, parents’ concerns are completely understandable. However, if the child is diagnosed to be in a situation where he or she is not catching up with growth, simply paying attention to diet and strengthening exercise will not improve the height of the child. If parents are reluctant to give their children early treatment because they are worried about the side effects of growth hormone and blindly delay it, then when they find that their children are still short in stature after puberty, it will be too late to treat them and they will have lost the best time to grow taller. In fact, for children who really need growth hormone treatment, if parents stubbornly dwell on the side effects of growth hormone, they are really throwing away the sesame seeds and picking up the watermelon. Growth hormone is the only hormone that makes bones grow linearly and is essential for regulating normal growth from birth to adulthood. The growth hormone used as a drug is synthesized using recombinant genetic technology and is identical to the growth hormone produced by the human pituitary gland. In clinical application, about 1% of children with short stature have side effects, including local transient reactions at the injection site (such as pain, numbness, redness and swelling) and fluid retention (peripheral edema, arthralgia or myalgia). They rarely affect daily life. In addition, since the growth rate of those who apply growth hormone is generally slow in the past, after the use of growth accelerates, the need for thyroxine increases, and some children may have hypothyroidism; growth hormone also inhibits glucose metabolism, and occasionally there may be people with slightly high blood sugar. Other side effects, such as headache and joint pain, are generally mild and will improve after a few days of dose reduction or discontinuation, and will be less pronounced after a period of gradual adaptation. At present, growth hormone is the only safe and effective drug approved by the FDA in the United States for the treatment of dwarfism, and it is completely safe and effective as long as it is applied reasonably according to the indications and strictly followed up and observed. In the United States and Japan, growth hormone treatment for growth deficiency has been incorporated into national health plans. Although growth hormone has some side effects, its ability to promote growth and development in children “younger than fetal age” is encouraging. Studies have shown that the use of recombinant growth hormone to treat “less than fetal age” children accelerates growth, increases hand and foot length, increases height, and helps the body’s tissue and psychosocial functions to mature. For example, some foreign experts have observed that after 2 years of long-term growth hormone treatment, 70% of children’s heights were in the normal range; after 10 years, 91% of children of “less than fetal age” were in the normal range. Therefore, it is recommended that recombinant growth hormone endocrine therapy should be considered if the height of a “less-than-fetal-age child” remains below the 3rd percentile for the same age group after 2 years of age. Growth hormone therapy has many other benefits besides height growth, such as changes in the head and facial skeleton as the child grows in height, resulting in the development of previously undeveloped bones and a normal facial appearance. In recent years, there is also evidence that growth hormone is beneficial for intellectual development, with some children with short stature showing significant improvements in IQ, behavior and self-perception after growth hormone treatment. Growth hormone should be administered under medical supervision. Growth hormone is similar to insulin in that it must be administered by subcutaneous injection. Clinical studies over the years have found that once-daily subcutaneous injections are the most effective and safe method. Growth hormone is usually injected at night. The subcutaneous injection sites can be around the umbilicus of the abdomen, the outer upper quadrant of the buttocks, the near-center half of the area between the g-joint and the knee joint on the anterolateral side of the thighs bilaterally, and the near-center half of the area on the lateral side of the forearm, between the shoulder and elbow joints, i.e., avoid injecting close to the joints. Rotating and changing the injection site regularly can avoid local problems such as swelling and pain. Growth hormone medications should generally be kept in a refrigerator at 2 to 8 °C, i.e., refrigerated, and not frozen. If you go out, you can prepare a small ice jug to carry with you. Parents or children can learn how to inject the drug, and the family or the child can inject the drug themselves. It should be noted that growth hormone therapy should be used for children with a clear diagnosis under the guidance of a pediatric endocrinologist, or an experienced physician, and regular monitoring of body indicators. In addition, growth hormone is expensive, and parents should take into account the financial burden; furthermore, growth hormone therapy is only a possible treatment effect for most people, and it should not be absolute, and there are obvious individual differences among people, and there may be other diseases that are not detected to affect them. Therefore, during growth hormone therapy, if the results are not satisfactory, the child’s compliance with treatment, the dose of growth hormone, and the diagnosis should be re-evaluated, and if necessary, discontinuation of treatment should be considered. If the treatment is satisfactory, treatment should be continued, and discontinuation of treatment may be considered when the child’s height growth rate is less than 2 cm/year. When it comes to growth hormone, the first reaction of many parents is that growth hormone is a “hormone” and they are worried that their children will have adverse reactions if they use it for a long time. So many parents have repeatedly taken their children to many hospitals, but they have been hesitant to give their children growth hormone: “Are there any side effects of growth hormone injections?” “Is it possible to grow taller by exercise and diet?” Regarding the safety of hormones, parents’ concerns are completely understandable. However, if the child is diagnosed to be in a situation where he or she is not catching up with growth, simply paying attention to diet and strengthening exercise will not improve the height of the child. If parents are reluctant to give their children early treatment because they are worried about the side effects of growth hormone and blindly delay it, then when they find that their children are still short in stature after puberty, it will be too late to treat them and they will have lost the best time to grow taller. In fact, for children who really need growth hormone treatment, if parents stubbornly dwell on the side effects of growth hormone, they are really throwing away the sesame seeds and picking up the watermelon. Growth hormone is the only hormone that makes bones grow linearly and is essential for regulating normal growth from birth to adulthood. The growth hormone used as a drug is synthesized using recombinant genetic technology and is identical to the growth hormone produced by the human pituitary gland. In clinical application, about 1% of children with short stature have side effects, including local transient reactions at the injection site (such as pain, numbness, redness and swelling) and fluid retention (peripheral edema, arthralgia or myalgia). They rarely affect daily life. In addition, since the growth rate of those who apply growth hormone is generally slow in the past, after the use of growth accelerates, the need for thyroxine increases, and some children may have hypothyroidism; growth hormone also inhibits glucose metabolism, and occasionally there may be people with slightly high blood sugar. Other side effects, such as headache and joint pain, are generally mild and will improve after a few days of dose reduction or discontinuation, and will be less pronounced after a period of gradual adaptation. At present, growth hormone is the only safe and effective drug approved by the FDA in the United States for the treatment of dwarfism, and it is completely safe and effective as long as it is applied reasonably according to the indications and strictly followed up and observed. In the United States and Japan, growth hormone treatment for growth deficiency has been incorporated into national health plans. Although growth hormone has some side effects, its ability to promote growth and development in children “younger than fetal age” is encouraging. Studies have shown that the use of recombinant growth hormone to treat “less than fetal age” children accelerates growth, increases hand and foot length, increases height, and helps the body’s tissue and psychosocial functions to mature. For example, some foreign experts have observed that after 2 years of long-term growth hormone treatment, 70% of children’s heights were in the normal range; after 10 years, 91% of children of “less than fetal age” were in the normal range. Therefore, it is recommended that recombinant growth hormone endocrine therapy should be considered if the height of a “less-than-fetal-age child” remains below the 3rd percentile for the same age group after 2 years of age. Growth hormone therapy has many other benefits besides height growth, such as changes in the head and facial skeleton as the child grows in height, resulting in the development of previously undeveloped bones and a normal facial appearance. In recent years, there is also evidence that growth hormone is beneficial for intellectual development, with some children with short stature showing significant improvements in IQ, behavior and self-perception after growth hormone treatment. Growth hormone should be administered under medical supervision. Growth hormone is similar to insulin in that it must be administered by subcutaneous injection. Clinical studies over the years have found that once-daily subcutaneous injections are the most effective and safe method. Growth hormone is usually injected at night. The subcutaneous injection sites can be around the umbilicus of the abdomen, the outer upper quadrant of the buttocks, the near-center half of the area between the g-joint and the knee joint on the anterolateral side of the thighs bilaterally, and the near-center half of the area on the lateral side of the forearm, between the shoulder and elbow joints, i.e., avoid injecting close to the joints. Rotating and changing the injection site regularly can avoid local problems such as swelling and pain. Growth hormone medications should generally be kept in a refrigerator at 2 to 8 °C, i.e., refrigerated, and not frozen. If you go out, you can prepare a small ice jug to carry with you. Parents or children can learn how to inject the drug, and the family or the child can inject the drug themselves. It should be noted that growth hormone therapy should be used for children with a clear diagnosis under the guidance of a pediatric endocrinologist, or an experienced physician, and regular monitoring of body indicators. In addition, growth hormone is expensive, and parents should take into account the financial burden; furthermore, growth hormone therapy is only a possible treatment effect for most people, and it should not be absolute, and there are obvious individual differences among people, and there may be other diseases that are not detected to affect them. Therefore, during growth hormone therapy, if the results are not satisfactory, the child’s compliance with treatment, the dose of growth hormone, and the diagnosis should be re-evaluated, and if necessary, discontinuation of treatment should be considered. If treatment is satisfactory, treatment should be continued and discontinuation may be considered when the child’s height growth rate is less than 2 cm/year.