Gigantism
Gigantism is when a person or animal grows much bigger than they should. Like a flower that gets much taller than the others in the garden.
Our bodies grow because of tiny things called hormones. Sometimes, for some reason, our body makes too much of a hormone called growth hormone. And when that happens, our bones can keep growing too much, making us so big that we're much taller than our friends.
It's like when you pour too much syrup on your pancakes, it gets all over the plate and makes a big, sticky mess. With gigantism, our bodies get too much of a good thing- the hormone that makes us grow- and it can cause problems like big feet, hands, and facial features.
Doctors can try to fix it by giving us medicine that normalizes our hormone levels. But, sometimes the effects of gigantism can stay with us for the rest of our lives.
Our bodies grow because of tiny things called hormones. Sometimes, for some reason, our body makes too much of a hormone called growth hormone. And when that happens, our bones can keep growing too much, making us so big that we're much taller than our friends.
It's like when you pour too much syrup on your pancakes, it gets all over the plate and makes a big, sticky mess. With gigantism, our bodies get too much of a good thing- the hormone that makes us grow- and it can cause problems like big feet, hands, and facial features.
Doctors can try to fix it by giving us medicine that normalizes our hormone levels. But, sometimes the effects of gigantism can stay with us for the rest of our lives.
Related topics others have asked about: