What are the dangers of precocious puberty in children?

Precocious puberty is generally a characteristic that occurs in adolescents. Usually, precocious puberty in children is mostly an abnormal phenomenon, and the degree of harm to the body of children is also relatively large. So, what are the dangers of precocious puberty in children? Please see the following description for details. Let’s take a look at it together, and I hope everyone can have a preliminary understanding.

Precocious puberty refers to the early onset of puberty, that is, the appearance of gonadal enlargement and secondary sexual characteristics in females before the age of 8, or the appearance of menstruation before the age of 10, and the development of males before the age of 9. According to the different pathogenesis, precocious puberty can generally be divided into two categories: gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-dependent precocious puberty (true precocious puberty) and GnRH-independent precocious puberty (pseudo-precocious puberty); the former is called central precocious puberty or complete precocious puberty, and the latter is called peripheral precocious puberty. In addition, incomplete precocious puberty, such as simple premature breast development and simple premature pubic hair, are classified as variant types of puberty by some scholars.

Precocious puberty has a great adverse effect on the physical and mental development of children: due to premature development and maturity, the bone growth period is shortened, the epiphysis will close prematurely, and their final height will be affected; although the sexual development of the children begins to mature, their actual age and psychological maturity are inconsistent with this, which can easily cause psychological disorders in children; because precocious puberty can produce sexual impulses that are inconsistent with age, it is easy to go astray and cause some social problems.

Symptoms of precocious puberty in boys

The main symptoms of precocious puberty in boys are enlargement of the testicles and penis, the appearance of pubic hair, some beard and voice change, or penile erection and ejaculation. After the testicles and penis appear, parents find that these children grow faster than other children of the same age. The same thing happens to girls as well.

Symptoms of precocious puberty in girls

Girls mainly experience breast development, which may be tender and they will tell their mothers that their chest hurts. In addition, there is development of external genitalia, increased vaginal secretions, growth of pubic hair, the onset of menstruation and the appearance of axillary hair. Menstruation begins with irregular vaginal bleeding and no ovulation, which gradually develops into periodic menstruation.

Generally speaking, precocious puberty is a normal physiological phenomenon as people grow and their organs mature. However, precocious puberty in children can easily cause them to have psychological disorders or commit crimes due to sexual impulses. In addition, some children may also have their normal height development affected by precocious puberty.