What Are the Side Effects of HGH in Children?

Some children do not produce enough growth hormone to sustain normal growth patterns and may be well below normal height. Injections of human growth hormone are given to try to increase their height. Previous to the 1980's, growth hormone was acquired from human cadavers, but this transmitted disease that was present in the cadavers. Today, synthetic human growth hormone is used safely and effectively, but there may be some side effects.

Joint Pain

• Some patients undergoing treatment with human growth hormone have reported joint pain. This is usually temporary and resolves after a short period of time. Human growth hormone treatment may also cause carpal tunnel syndrome, a pinching of the nerve in the wrist that causes chronic pain.

Swelling of Body Tissue

• Human growth hormone can produce edema, which is the filling of body tissues with fluid causing swelling.

Abnormal Growth

• Human growth hormone can also produce abnormal growth of the hands and feet in those taking it for extended periods of time. It is also thought the rapid growth can increase risk of scoliosis of the spine.

HIgh Blood Pressure

• Human growth hormone has also been shown to elevate blood pressure levels. This may be a result of the increased salt and water retention that occurs with HGH treatment. For this reason, careful monitoring by a physician is necessary. The intracranial pressure can produce headache, loss of vision, nausea and vomiting.

Excessive Hair Growth

• Human growth hormone can produce excessive hair growth all over the body, a condition called hirsutism.

Increased Risk of Cancer

• A long-term follow-up study of children treated with growth hormone has shown a very small but statistically significant increase in bowel and other abdominal cancers. Previous cancer occurrences may be a contraindication for humanegrowth hormone treatment. For those with no previous cancer history, growth hormone treatment is usually continued unless there is some evidence of unusual cell growth. Careful monitoring by the physician is recommended.

Blood Sugar Disruptions

• One of the functions of growth hormone is to increase the amount of sugar in the bloodstream in times of stress. It is theorized that increasing the human growth hormone level in the blood may increase the incidence of type 1 or type 2 diabetes, and therefore, children's blood sugar levels should be closely monitored when under HGH treatment. It may also increase risk of hypoglycemia.