Hello everyone, I'm Dr. Ju Wei.
Friends who often read my popular science know that the epiphyseal line determines the child's growth space, but many parents will find that the child's bone age is too difficult to control.
In the outpatient clinic, there are often children whose bone age was half a year younger last year, and one year older after a year, and some little girls developed at the age of 8, and the bone age was one and a half years older when checked.
Why does the child's bone age run faster and faster, and how can it be effectively controlled? I'm going to tell you more about it today.
The core cause of a child's large bone age
The older the bone age, the higher the bone maturity, and the less room the child has to grow taller, and the "ripening agent" behind this is estrogen.
Children with older bone age usually have the problem of elevated estrogen levels in advance, so where does these "excess" estrogen come from?
1. Overweight. If your child is overweight, it will lead to fat accumulation, high aromatase activity, and high estrogen levels in the body;
2. Direct contact with or eating some foods high in estrogen.
3. Genetic factors. If the parent has ever had an older bone age, the child may have an older bone age.
What should I do if my child's bone age is too old?
It can be seen from the above that the child's bone age is on the high side, so if you want to control the bone age, you need to start from the two aspects of "keeping your mouth shut" and "opening your legs", and at the same time take appropriate intervention measures to control it.
Keep your mouth shut: Stay away from these 6 food groups
For children with older bone age, it is too important to keep your mouth shut, and the following 6 foods should not be eaten by your child as much as possible:
1. Out-of-season food: watermelon, grapes, tomatoes, etc. in winter;
2. Contributed meat: such as chicken that will be slaughtered in 40 days;
3. Foods that are greatly supplemented: ginseng, cordyceps, royal jelly, etc.;
4. Fried food: fried chicken, barbecue, etc.;
5. Beans: children with normal bone age can drink occasionally, don't drink it every day, and children with older bone age try not to drink it;
6. Sweets: milk tea, sugar, cakes, etc.;
Try to eat more high-quality protein foods, eat less carbohydrates, and eat more fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables, just do it, there is no need to eat too much, which will not only increase the burden on the stomach, but also easily affect the quality of sleep.
Step open: Maintain regular exercise and control your weight
For every 10 pounds of weight gained, the bone age may be 1 year older, and if you want to control your weight, in addition to adjusting your diet, you should exercise more.
The main types of sports are jumping and full-body sports. For example, badminton, basketball, high jumping, skipping rope, swimming, etc., insist on at least half an hour every day.
Medication: constitution identification, TCM intervention
In terms of controlling bone age, Western medicine often uses inhibition injections, but most children do not use such a strong control program, in contrast, traditional Chinese medicine control is more appropriate, and traditional Chinese medicine is very widely used in controlling bone age.
In traditional Chinese medicine, the early development of children and the large bone age are related to the functions of the kidney, liver and spleen. Children with these three physiques are more likely to develop early: yin deficiency and fire, liver stagnation and fire, and phlegm and dampness stagnation.
Children with yin deficiency and fire are mainly manifested as hot hands and feet, dry stools, cold and heat, easy to night sweats, and unstable sleep.
In terms of treatment, I will use some traditional Chinese medicine to nourish yin and kidney. For example, rehmannia root, salt zhimu, peony skin, cork, turtle shell, hyssop, etc.
Children with liver depression are mainly manifested by loss of appetite, frequent depression, insomnia and dreams, and introverted personality.
In terms of treatment, I will use some traditional Chinese medicine to soothe the liver and relieve depression, nourish yin and reduce fire. For example, gardenia, tulip, prunella, orange pit, etc.
Children with phlegm dampness and stagnation are mainly obese, like to eat meat, have heavy limbs, and have a lot of sticky phlegm in the mouth.
In terms of treatment, I will use some traditional Chinese medicine to dissolve phlegm, dryness and dampness, and strengthen the spleen. For example, citrus aurantium, tangerine peel, banxia, saponaria thorn, coix seed, cat's claw and so on.
Some children may have one syndrome type, and some children may have multiple syndrome types, and they need to be treated according to the specific situation of the child.
Growing taller is like a race against time with the epiphysis line, and once the epiphysis is closed, the height is also fixed. I suggest that parents who have requirements for their children's height should measure their children's bone age once a year after the age of 3.