Delayed puberty, when you really have to worry

The puberty It is a stage of changes. But what happens if we do not detect those transformations in our children? What happens if your adolescence does not arrive? In these cases in which puberty does not follow the same rhythm as that of others, when the adolescent can feel displaced and different

However, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics, AEP, states that in these situations we must remain calm because, like any process of change in the body, not all people follow the same rhythms.

When puberty is delayed

The AEP first of all remembers the most important changes in the puberty, three points that should be taken into account when judging this development in the child's body:


- Emergence and development of sexual characters secondary to changes in the body shape of each sex. This process culminates with the acquisition of reproductive capacity.

Acceleration of growth until reaching the definitive size of the person. The process that perhaps lasts longer.

- Psychological maturation accompanied by mood swings and irritability.

Pediatricians remember that these changes usually start around 13 years in the case of girls and to 14 in boys. If these alterations are not appreciated at that moment is when you can begin to assess the possibility that there is a delay in puberty.


When do you have to worry

If past the usual age of development is not perceived no kind of change In the sexual organs, the AEP recommends going to a specialist to assess the situation. However, this organization remembers that the development rhythms of each person can be very different and that it should be the doctor who ultimately determines if there are reasons to worry.

To diagnose if there is a delay in puberty, it will be necessary to analyze the pattern of growth and skeletal maturation. With these data, which are compared with normal growth and development patterns with those experienced by the parents, they will give a first orientation on whether what happens is a normal and expected process, or if on the other hand there is a need to worry about a possible disease causing this delay.


- In case it is a disease which prevents the development of puberty, the tests will focus as follows: -Identify if the gonads, testes in children and ovaries in girls, can not produce the hormones responsible for pubertal development, testosterone in boys and estradiol in the girls

- In the case that they are brain structures Those responsible for the control of puberty who are not adequately stimulating them, will have to consider whether any disease does not allow the child's organism to be in adequate conditions.

The treatment of delayed puberty

Only some type of hormone will have to be administered in cases where some type of pathology that causes this delay in puberty has been diagnosed. Regarding the treatment, both girls and boys are the same: hormone administration, testosterone in the case of children and estrogen in girls.

Damián Montero:

Video: These Are The Signs That You Are Going Through Puberty


Interesting Articles

4 styles to take advantage of your terrace

4 styles to take advantage of your terrace

Deciding which decorative elements are perfect for our home can often be more complicated than it seems. The key is to find the balance between our own tastes and the new trends that create beautiful...