What does a pediatric endocrinologist do?

A pediatric endocrinologist is a fairly rare profession. In many medical centers, such a position is not even provided. This is not entirely correct, since the growth and development of the child's body largely depends on the work of the glands of the external, and especially internal, secretion. In the event that all deviations are detected early enough, it becomes possible to conduct rational treatment and fully stabilize the endocrine system. If a full restoration of the functional capabilities of the glands is not feasible, then the pediatric endocrinologist will prescribe replacement therapy exactly in the volume in which this is necessary for a particular child.

Endocrinological diseases in children have recently been found more and more often. However, many of them proceed outwardly imperceptibly. This contributes to the aggravation of the pathological process and the rather late detection of endocrine diseases.

One of the most common diseases of this profile in children is diabetes. It is worth noting that many people under the age of 30 are susceptible to type I infection of this serious and dangerous disease. It is not so easy for a child to identify its first symptoms. Parents should pay attention to whether their child too often goes to the toilet "in a small way." In addition, children with type I diabetes mellitus often feel thirsty and quickly lose weight, despite the fact that their appetite is excellent.

If there is even a slight suspicion of the occurrence of such a serious disease, it is necessary that the child is examined by a child endocrinologist. He will take a blood test for sugar, prescribe a glycemic profile (blood sampling with a frequency of 3 hours to determine daily fluctuations in blood sugar concentration), and then determine the dose of insulin needed to compensate for type I diabetes, if this disease is detected.

Pathology associated with the thyroid gland is also quite common among children. The main diseases caused by the malfunctioning of this organ are hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. The first kind of pathology is more common. The main cause of this disease is a decreased thyroxine production by thyroid cells. A similar condition can be observed in case of damage to this organ or may be a consequence of the removal of part of it. Children with this disease have increased weight, decreased appetite, their eyeballs may look sunken, the reaction of such a child is usually inhibited. As for hyperthyroidism, this pathology is an increase in thyroid production by thyroid cells. A similar pathology is manifested by a decrease in body weight, increased appetite, sweating, eyeballs advanced forward. Such a child is often irritable. The treatment of hypo- and hyperthyroidism in each case, the child endocrinologist selects individually. Most often, it consists in the appointment of thyroxine replacement therapy (for hypothyroidism), or thyreostatin (for hyperthyroidism). In the case of an increase in thyroxine production by thyroid cells, sometimes it is necessary to resort to surgical intervention. Moreover, a similar operation will no longer be carried out by an ordinary endocrinologist. Who will do this really well is an endocrinologist.

During the examination, a pediatric endocrinologist can identify other diseases: pituitary dwarfism, gigantism and others, but they are quite rare.