What is precocious puberty?

Both boys and girls may experience precocious puberty. For example, some girls get their first period before the age of ten. This is abnormal and can almost be considered as precocious puberty. In addition, if a boy's genitals begin to develop before the age of ten, it can also be considered as precocious puberty. Precocious puberty is very harmful and this issue should be taken seriously by parents. If you don't know what precocious puberty is, let's learn about it below.

What is precocious puberty?

Precocious puberty refers to the onset of sexual maturity at a significantly earlier age. Medically, it refers to the premature development of children's gonads, that is, the testicles of males and the ovaries of females, which causes the early development of reproductive organs and the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics. The medical definition is that sexual development begins before the age of 8 for girls or before the age of 10 for boys. Early development of the reproductive system, including the appearance of adult secondary sexual characteristics, often occurs in a sequence similar to that of normal puberty. Precocious puberty is accompanied by accelerated physical development and growth, resulting in increased height and muscle development, premature closure of the epiphyses, and earlier growth cessation.

Precocious puberty in girls is manifested by the development of female sexual characteristics, such as breast growth, widening of the hips, growth of pubic and axillary hair, development of reproductive organs and the onset of menstruation. Symptoms of precocious puberty in boys include the growth of pubic hair, armpit hair, beard and Adam's apple, deepening of the voice, enlargement of the penis and testicles, and nocturnal emission. These are all homosexual precocious puberty. If a girl develops male sexual characteristics prematurely as she grows up, such as growing a beard, a long Adam's apple, a deepening voice, an enlarged clitoris, etc., this is called heterosexual precocious puberty, and is an abnormal phenomenon that requires prompt medical treatment.

Precocious puberty occurs more frequently in girls than in boys, with the ratio of girls to boys being 8:1. The cause of precocious puberty is unknown in 80% of girls and 40% of boys. Central nervous system damage, hypothyroidism and fibrous dysplasia of bone can all cause precocious puberty.

However, it should be noted that due to the continuous improvement of modern living standards and the increased intake of nutritional supplements, the age at which children enter puberty and reach sexual maturity has a tendency to be gradually advanced worldwide. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult to draw an absolute dividing line in age between normal sexual maturity and precocious puberty in children.

Children with precocious puberty are significantly taller than children of the same age, but when they reach puberty, they appear slightly shorter because they stop growing earlier. The inconsistency between a child's physical appearance and cognitive or social skills can sometimes cause problems. Yet precocious children who are otherwise perfectly normal may actually benefit from accelerated maturation in school, allowing them to be with older children of similar physical development.

It should be pointed out that the earlier the sexual maturity, the faster the progression, and the greater the possibility of tumors. Parents need to pay attention to this and not assume that if a child develops early, he or she will become an adult early. In addition to actively examining and treating children with precocious puberty, appropriate sex education should be implemented to let them understand that sexual maturity is a natural phenomenon. At the same time, they should understand that girls with true precocious puberty already have fertility and need to be careful to prevent the possibility of conception.