Puberty

Puberty is the time phase of a child's life in which they experience some physical and hormonal changes and lead to become sexually mature.. that means their body becomes capable of sexual reproduction after which they become an adult. Generally this phase starts in girls between the age of 9-11 and in boys between the age of 11-12 and the process can take upto 4 to 7yrs to complete. During this time, girls and boys face different changes in their lives.

Changes in girls :

• As for the first sign of puberty in girls, their breasts start to grow and develop. Starting hair growth in the pubic area and armpits.

• Starting hair growth in the pubic area and armpits

• Later sign of puberty is the start of menstruation (period). Most commonly girls have their first period during or after the first two years of when puberty started.

• Experience more sweating.

• Start to get acne including whiteheads and blackheads.

Changes In Boys:

• Puberty starts in boys with the growth of testicles, their testicles and penis get bigger.

• Starting hair growth in the pubic area, at the base of the penis and armpits.

• Facial hair growth, muscle growth and deeper & thicker voice.

• Boys start sweating more.

• Start to get acne including whiteheads and blackheads and pustules.

Puberty starts and gets over differently in all children, if your children complete this stage before or after then it's nothing to worry about. In some children, puberty starts some earlier or some later and if it happens with your child then you should concern a doctor to ensure their good health.

Diagnosis Of Puberty:

Puberty is just a phase of life and the changes sometimes go different in all children so it's not to worry about. But if your child has precocious puberty (in which the signs of puberty manifest earlier than the average age of puberty) or delayed puberty (in which the signs of puberty manifest starts later than the average age of puberty) then you should concern a doctor for once. Procedures to diagnose puberty include:

Blood Test : Most of the hormones can be found in your blood. A blood test is done to determine the sexual and other hormone levels related to puberty. These hormones include; estradiol (in females it is produced mainly by the ovaries, and in smaller amounts by the adrenal glands where in males it is found in a low amount and produced by the testes and adrenal glands), testosterone (it is produced mainly by the testes in boys but it is also found in a much smaller amounts by the ovaries in girls).

Estrogen Levels Test : It is used to measure estrogens level in the blood and urine. Estrogens are a gathering of hormones that assume a key part in the development of female physical highlights and reproductive ability, including the growth of breasts and the uterus, and menstrual cycle regulation. These hormones are also found in smaller amounts in males.

Treatment Of Puberty :

Usually it does not require any treatment because of the changes experienced during the time of puberty. Treatment is required in some cases of precocious puberty and delayed puberty.

Precocious Puberty : In many cases it doesn't need any specific medication and the puberty gets over normally. But if it is caused because of an underlying ongoing medical issue then it needs to be resolved to stop the progress of puberty for this some medications are used to prevent hormones that cause puberty. These medications include; gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa), these medications are injected, to reduce production of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).

Delayed Puberty : It is also called hypogonadism. The treatment of delayed puberty include; testosterone injections, skin patches, or gel (for males) and estrogen and/or progesterone given as pills or skin patches (for females).