What are the symptoms of precocious puberty in children?

The development of normal children follows certain rules. They usually enter puberty at around 12 years old, followed by the appearance of some secondary physical signs. However, some children show secondary physical signs and changes in the reproductive system when they are eight or nine years old. In fact, these are caused by excessive secretion of sex hormones. Precocious puberty in children is a disease, and parents must pay attention to it. There are many reasons for precocious puberty, and various manifestations will also appear in precocious puberty. Let us learn about it together!

1. The manifestations of precocious puberty vary greatly

Due to the different causes of precocious puberty, its manifestations vary. First, let's look at precocious puberty in children. In these children, not only do secondary sexual characteristics appear prematurely, but the gonads themselves also mature prematurely, and ovulation and sperm production occur.

(1) Primary true precocious puberty: These refer to children with precocious puberty who cannot be diagnosed with pathological morphology. Most of them are girls, and the youngest can be as young as 1-2 years old. Both boys and girls have premature physical and skeletal development, precocious gonadal puberty and secondary sexual characteristics. The order of sexual characteristics appears normally, but at an earlier time. The growth of height and weight is accelerated, the epiphyses mature too quickly, the teeth and intelligence develop normally, and the excretion of 17-ketosteroids and estrogen in the urine increases.

(2) True precocious puberty with bone and skin symptoms, also known as Mccune-Albright syndrome, is characterized by fibrosis of long bones, skin pigmentation, and increased urinary excretion of 17-ketosteroids and estrogen. It mainly occurs in girls and does not require treatment. The condition stabilizes in adulthood.

(3) True precocious puberty due to intracranial lesions: Various intracranial tumors, cerebral edema, post-encephalitis scars, tuberculous meningitis, hydrocephalus, etc. can cause precocious puberty, and corresponding pathological symptoms will appear later.

(4) True precocious puberty due to other reasons: For example, malignant tumors may secrete gonadotropin-like hormones. Untreated cretinism may cause the brain to secrete a large amount of gonadotropin at the same time as thyroid-stimulating hormone before treatment. However, precocious puberty can be reduced in children after thyroid treatment.

2. Incomplete precocious puberty:

Children with this condition only have partial symptoms of precocious puberty, with two major features being enlarged breasts or early appearance of pubic hair. Simple breast hypertrophy may occur in girls when they are 2-3 years old. Breast hypertrophy without other secondary sexual characteristics is mostly a benign symptom. It may also be the first manifestation of true or false precocious puberty and should be followed up. Male breast enlargement. Boys occasionally have excessive breast enlargement in early puberty. Like girls, the reason is related to the secretion of estrogen by the testicles. The estrogen in the urine of some children may increase in the short term. Generally, the symptoms disappear naturally within a few months. Occasionally, it may last for 1-2 years. Some only have enlarged nipples, which are sometimes tender and do not require treatment. Boys may also have enlarged breasts during the course of certain diseases, such as testicular Leydig cell tumors, adrenal tumors, etc. Simple precocious pubic hair is the premature appearance of pubic and axillary hair without other secondary sexual characteristics. It is more common in girls, aged 1-4 years old, with height exceeding normal.