How Can a Pediatric Endocrinologist Help Your Child?

Posted by Dr. Ketki Sapre on October 28th, 2015

A pediatric endocrinologist primarily attends to the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents struggling with metabolic and/or hormonal disorders. They treat children who suffer from different forms of diabetes, obesity, disorders of sex development, growth or pubertal abnormalities, hypoglycemia, bone and mineral disturbances and deficiencies, and many other disorders relating to the parathyroid, pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal glands.

If your child is having problems with growth, development, puberty, diabetes, and other conditions relating to hormones and the endocrine glands that produce them, an endocrinologist is the best pediatric doctor to perform proper diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate treatment for his or her condition.

Hormones are naturally occurring and produced chemicals that affect the development and the way different parts of the body work. For instance, different types of hormones decide how a child matures and grows. Endocrine glands like the pituitary gland are responsible for releasing these hormones into the bloodstream. While endocrinology in general, studies these glands and the different effects of the hormones they produce, problems that are seen by pediatric endocrinologists are quite different from those seen and treated by endocrinologists caring for adult patients. This is why special training in different pediatric conditions relating to growth and development is important for pediatric endocrinologists. While hormonal problems are usually present for life, special conditions and disorders that only occur during childhood and teen years require the focused attention of pediatric endocrinologists.

A pediatric endocrinologist can help diagnose, manage, and treat various types of hormonal disorders in teenagers and children such as:

• Growth problems such as a noticeably short stature
• Enlarged thyroid gland or goiter
• Early or delayed puberty
• Hypo or hyper function of the pituitary gland
• Hypo or hyper function of the adrenal gland
• Underactive or overactive thyroid gland
• Ovarian and testicular dysfunction
• Ambiguous genitals or intersex
• Diabetes
• Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar
• Obesity
• Problems with vitamin D such as rickets and hypocalcemia

Children are more than just small adults. In fact, they have more complex health needs because of their developing and maturing state. This is why their special needs must also be addressed by specialized physicians who understand exactly how different conditions affect their body in their particular stage of development.

Pediatric endocrinologists practice in all kinds of medical settings. These include children’s hospitals, large community hospitals, university medical centers, and even in private offices. Your pediatrician can also help you locate a good endocrinologist to help handle your child’s case.

About the Author:

This article was written by Dr. Ketki Sapre who works at MediAngels as marketing manager.

MediAngels is the world’s first online hospital in India. We provide access to the best medical expertise and have about 400+ super specialist doctors on our panel, who belong to 93 specialties. Visit our website for an online medical consultation, advice and diagnosis of various diseases. Get symptoms, treatment, causes and risk factors associated with the diseases online.