In medicine, the term "infantilism" characterizes the state of the body in which the organs of the reproductive system are underdeveloped. Psycho-emotional disorders, which often occur in adolescence, complicate the situation. Two forms of pathology are known: congenital and acquired, each of them can affect the body partially or completely. Therefore, it is very important to identify the disorder at the beginning of its development.
Reasons for the development of pathology
The formation and development of all internal organs and systems begins in the embryonic period, when the child is still in the womb. The process is quite lengthy and continues after birth. The final stage is in adolescence. The likelihood of developing various pathologies during this period, including genital infantilism, is quite high, and with constant exposure to negative mental or physical factors it only increases.
So, among the reasons that contribute to developmental delay, doctors call:
- Diseases of the cardiac, nervous and vascular systems of the body of an innate nature.
- Infections followed by infection and illness of the child during fetal development or in young children.
- Injuries to the skull and brain, including those that could have been received during labor.
- Sexually transmitted diseases of parents.
- Pathologies of the endocrine system of the body are innate and acquired.
- Vitamin imbalance in childhood.
- The transferred stress during the period of carrying a child.
- Hard diets in adolescence.
- Vitamin deficiency due to malnutrition.
- Alcohol abuse during pregnancy.
- Smoking
- Severe poisoning with toxins (alcohol, tobacco, drugs) immediately before conception.
Among other things, underdevelopment of the reproductive system can occur in a child if the pregnancy proceeded with pathologies. There is also a high probability of a violation in the presence of extragenital diseases (the main sign of the disease in girls is that menstruation does not go).
Common signs of impaired genital development
Infantilism may be general or partial. In the first case, developmental delay is traced throughout the body: physical, mental, sexual. With a partial violation, problems arise with a particular system. It is worth noting that sexual infantilism is more pronounced in the female than in men.
The stronger sex has functional difficulties: attraction to a woman is practically absent, reproductive abilities are impaired, erection is quite low. Of the visible signs, the penis of a man is twice less than the standard size, the timbre of the voice is high, due to the weak production of testosterone, the hair on the chest and face practically does not grow.
Signs of female infantilism are more visible in the process of grading the disease, so you should consider them in detail.
Degrees of female infantilism
When a woman has sexual infantilism, one of two types of disorders occurs in the body: either the abnormal development of the genitals occurs, or the whole body suffers completely. In medicine, abnormalities in the development of the organs of the reproductive system, namely the uterus, are more often diagnosed, which affects reproductive function.
Infantilism is classified into three degrees:
- The first is the least diagnosed form of the disease. It is characterized by underdevelopment of the uterus (its length is not more than three centimeters), and the neck is several times larger than the size of the organ. The patient does not have menstruation, respectively, there is no possibility of pregnancy. Reproductive function is fully impaired and cannot be restored.
- The second - a feature of the pathology is that the length of the neck exceeds the size of the uterus three times, while the organ is no longer than three centimeters. Pathology is observed in the structure and location of the fallopian tubes. They have excessive bending and length. Monthly bleeding is not regular and is accompanied by severe pain. Due to the specific structure of the tubes, pregnancy is often ectopic. With prolonged and proper treatment, it is possible to restore the reproductive system.
- The third - the patient has a uterus of almost normal size and is about 6-7 centimeters. The main reason for the development of pathology is infectious diseases with damage to the organs of the reproductive system, which were transferred in early childhood. With a woman returning to normal regular sexual activity, the disorders go away without additional treatment.
Signs of female infantilism
In addition to the main degrees of pathology, sexual infantilism in women is characterized by malfunctioning of the ovaries. Violation of reproductive function and a weak manifestation of secondary sexual characteristics are due to poor production of the hormone estrogen, because of this the level of libido is also reduced.
The disease can also be recognized by external manifestations: the chest is underdeveloped, a narrowed pelvis, hair in the pubic area is practically absent. The girl herself may suspect a violation of irregular painful menstruation.
Sexual infantilism in men
Representatives of the stronger sex also suffer from a similar violation. Male infantilism is pronouncedly lagging in sexual development. Secondary sexual characteristics and organs are underdeveloped. In appearance, a man with a violation differs from his peers in an overly young look.
Sexual infantilism can be suspected with a regular absence of sexual attraction to the opposite sex, ejaculation does not occur at night, there is no sudden erection, the penis of a man is small.
It is worth noting that the size of the penis is not always small, in exceptional cases the penis of a man is developed normally. Then the cause of infantilism is mental underdevelopment. Deviation leads to the fact that a man cannot establish contact with a woman on an emotional level and enter into intimacy with her.
Mental form of violation
In most cases, pathology does not occur solely on the background of mental disorders. It is accompanied by various, sometimes not entirely obvious physical disorders. We can say that this form of the disease occurs a second time when congenital or acquired infantilism is already progressing. It is born against the background of problems with the endocrine, cardiac and vascular systems.
A patient with a psychic form of infantilism is inclined to behave like a child: he is frightened by everything new, hysteria attacks often happen, he is frivolous and egocentric. More often, the treatment of this disorder is carried out in a complex, with the elimination of the diagnosed congenital or acquired infantilism.
Methods for diagnosing the disease
Infantilism is a complex physical and mental disorder of one or more systems of the body. Therefore, diagnosticians conduct a series of measures that accurately determine the etiology of the disease.
So, for the diagnosis, the doctor may prescribe:
- Consultation in conjunction with a medical survey (medical history).
- Ultrasound scanning of the internal organs of the reproductive system.
- Hormone test
- Inspection on the CT apparatus.
- Doppler imaging to assess the state of blood vessels and the full circulation.
- X-ray examination of the uterus.
- Colposcopy.
- Psychological testing.
With obvious pathology, 3 examination procedures will be sufficient for making a diagnosis.
All procedures and tests help specialists accurately determine the discrepancies in a person’s age and development of the genitals, the presence of mental disorders. Based on this, the correct treatment regimen is determined.
Therapeutic methods to combat infantilism
Genital infantilism is best treated at the initial stage of development. If violations were detected in early childhood, then the likelihood of a complete restoration of the reproductive system is very high. When diagnosing pathology in adulthood, often treatment does not give any results.
The success of therapy is directly dependent on an accurate determination of the reasons against which infantilism developed. Pathologies that arise under the influence of malfunctioning of the endocrine, cardiac or vascular systems are eliminated by stabilization with medicines. In some situations, surgery may be performed.
With a diagnosed delay in sexual development , a drug hormonal treatment regimen is used. Medicines help the body produce the missing hormones (progesterone and estradiol) in the required volume. The doctor also prescribes a course of physical procedures and drugs that strengthen the immune system.
The mental form of the disease is to be treated by taking tranquilizers and antidepressants. These drugs stabilize the nervous system. In severe situations, treatment by a psychotherapist is indicated.
Prevention
Genital infantilism can be prevented. Only future parents can do this, because the origin of pathology occurs during the period of intrauterine development. Even before conception, you need to abandon bad habits, lead a healthy lifestyle and reduce your stay in stressful situations.
To prevent the development of infantilism in childhood, it is necessary to ensure that the child does not come into contact with infections that can affect the organs of the reproductive system. You should also balance your diet, and adolescents should not get involved in diets or fasting.