Does precocious puberty need to be treated?

Precocious puberty has become a problem that many people are concerned about in our lives today, especially for many parents and friends. Because they have never encountered it and only heard about it from TV or reports, everyone has become panicked. In fact, precocious puberty can be treated in the early stages. Many people think that precocious puberty in children is just early physical development. Does precocious puberty need to be treated? But in fact, the harm is great.

What to do about precocious puberty

Treatment depends on the cause. The goals of treatment for central precocious puberty are: 1. inhibit or slow down development, especially to prevent girls from menstruating; 2. inhibit skeletal maturation and improve the final rise in adulthood; 3. restore the psychological behavior that is appropriate for the corresponding age.

1. Etiological treatment

Those caused by tumors should be surgically removed or undergo chemotherapy. Those caused by radiotherapy or hypothyroidism should be given thyroid preparations to correct thyroid function. Patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia can be treated with cortisol hormones.

2. Drug treatment

1. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa)

Natural GnRH is a 10-amino acid polypeptide. The several commonly used GnRHs are long-acting synthetic hormones made by replacing the sixth amino acid in the molecule, namely glycine, with D-tryptophan, D-serine, D-histidine, and D-leucine. Their function is to reduce the secretion of pituitary gonadotropin by down-regulation, thereby restoring estrogen to pre-pubertal levels. It can be injected intramuscularly once every 4 weeks at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg. After taking the medicine, the patient's sexual development, height growth, and bone age maturation can be controlled. Its effect is reversible. If treated as early as possible, it can improve the final height in adulthood.

2. Sex hormones

Its mechanism of action is to use high-dose sex hormone feedback to inhibit hypothalamic-pituitary gonadotropin secretion. For example, medroxyprogesterone acetate, also known as medroxyprogesterone acetate, is a progesterone derivative used for precocious puberty in girls. The daily oral dose is 10 to 30 mg, and the dose is reduced to maintain efficacy after the effect is shown. Cyproterone acetate is a 17-hydroxyprogesterone derivative that not only blocks sex hormone receptors but also reduces the release of gonadotropin. The daily dose is 70-150 mg/m2. The above two drugs cannot improve adult height.

Tip: In terms of drug treatment, mild precocious puberty can be treated with Chinese medicine such as Zhibai Dihuang Pills, Dayin Bu Pills and other decoctions; moderate or above and true precocious puberty can be treated with progesterone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone drugs under the guidance of a doctor.

Although most cases of precocious puberty are closely related to diet, they are also inseparable from medication. This is because many medications in daily life have relatively high hormone content, and children will have many obvious developmental reactions after taking them. Therefore, medications should no longer be used. Similarly, foods such as KFC, fried chicken, etc. should not be eaten. Once a child is found to have precocious puberty, timely treatment should be given.