Breast growth in boys, a transient disorder
Enlargement of the mammary gland (gynecomastia) is often asymmetric and can appear transiently in boys between the ages of 12 and 14. Fortunately, it disappears after a year or a year and a half, so no treatment is needed. Only if the disorder persists, hormonal treatment with antiestrogens or testosterone is administered. However, being seen as a sign of demasculinization, it should be known that gynecomastia leads to a loss of self-confidence.
When to call an endocrinologist?
If even after the age of 15, the breasts are slow to grow in your teenager, then it is time to consult an endocrinologist together. It can be about an endocrine dysfunction or a trauma. Following the analyses, the endocrinologist will decide if it is necessary to recommend hormonal treatment. On the other hand, if your teenager complains of insufficient breast growth, you should not worry, but rather when she complains of back pain or irritation in the breast area.
Breast secretions, signs of tumors
Also as a result of an endocrine dysfunction, breast secretions can also appear in adolescents, also called galactorrhea. The cause of these secretions is the increase in the level of prolactin, a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland, an endocrine gland at the base of the brain. It is possible that the secretions are also a sign of a benign tumor, if they appear in both breasts. When they are present in only one breast and are accompanied by bleeding, they can be the symptoms of a malignant tumor. A simple medical check-up and an ultrasound are enough to find out what is the cause of the adolescent’s galactorrhea.
Careful!
In the case of teenage girls, mammography can irradiate the growing breast and does not provide much data.
