What are the symptoms of precocious puberty in children?

Precocious puberty manifests itself differently in many children. There are many reasons for precocious puberty. In order to prevent their children from experiencing precocious puberty too early, many parents choose some measures to try to prevent their children from experiencing these conditions too early. Some parents do not understand how the symptoms of precocious puberty appear in their children and allow their children to develop on their own. So what are the specific symptoms of precocious puberty in children?

1. Central precocious puberty 50% of children with central precocious puberty begin to develop before the age of 6 years. Female symptoms include breast development, enlargement of the labia minora, estrogen-dependent changes in vaginal mucosal cells, enlargement of the uterus and ovaries, appearance of pubic hair, and menarche. Male symptoms include enlarged testicles and penis, appearance of pubic hair, developed muscles, and a deeper voice. Both men and women have accelerated growth and accelerated bone maturation, which may ultimately lead to a lifetime height below the target height. When accompanied by central nervous system lesions such as intracranial tumors, there may be headaches, vomiting, vision changes or other neurological symptoms and signs.

2. Peripheral precocious puberty Peripheral precocious puberty is also called pseudo-precocious puberty. The clinical manifestations include the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics, but they are not initiated during puberty. It has nothing to do with the activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis, but is related to the increase in endogenous or exogenous sex hormone levels.

3. Pubertal Development Variation

(1) Simple premature breast development (premature thelarche): This syndrome refers to the development of only one or both breasts before the age of 8 without the appearance of other secondary sexual characteristics (pubic hair, changes in uterine size and labia minora). It is common within 2 years of age and rarely occurs after 4 years of age. In some cases, it may last for a long time. Long-term follow-up has found that it has no effect on the health, growth and fertility of the children. The estrogen level in the blood may be normal or slightly elevated. The sex hormone binding protein in the blood is often elevated, but there is no FSH elevation. The response of FSH to GnRH stimulation is greater than that of normal controls. Ovarian B-ultrasound can show the recurrence of one or more cysts with a diameter greater than 5 mm. The appearance of cysts is correlated with changes in breast size. The size of the ovaries and uterus is in the pre-pubertal state. Since simple premature breast development is difficult to distinguish from true precocious puberty at the beginning, continuous observation is very important.

(2) Simple premature pubarche: Simple premature pubarche can be seen in both sexes. Most children develop pubic hair or axillary hair around the age of 6, but there is no activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and no other development of any secondary sexual characteristics. Some children may have mild growth acceleration and advanced bone age (within the normal range of -2SD). Blood levels of dehydroepiandrosterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, 17-hydroxypregnenolone, and androstenedione can reach the level of normal children in the pubic stage II. Dehydroepiandrosterone can increase after ACTH stimulation, but the increase in 17-hydroxyprogesterone and 17-hydroxypregnenolone is not as high as that in congenital adrenal hyperplasia. The course of the disease is non-progressive, and true puberty begins at a normal age. This syndrome needs to be distinguished from other lesions that cause increased androgen secretion in childhood.

Children should be innocent, and no "impurities" should be allowed in their world. Therefore, parents must sort out their children's inner world and never let their children show symptoms that should not appear too early. If parents don't know how to deal with it, they can go to the hospital to consult relevant doctors.