Parents should go to the hospital if they notice development before the age of 8 years for girls or 9 years for boys. Sometimes parents are not sure when their child developed. Although the child is no longer at the age of precocious puberty, it is recommended that they also go to the hospital if the development has become more obvious. Some children are fat and their breasts look as if they are developing, so it is best to check the ultrasound of the breasts to exclude breast development.
How to determine the appearance of precocious puberty in children
1.Girls: The main thing is to observe whether the child has breast development, there may be breast enlargement or (and) breast tenderness, whether there is secretion in the underwear, and some children may first appear pubic hair.
2. Boys: Observe whether there is pubic hair and whether the penis becomes longer and thicker.
Since children of this age tend to bathe by themselves, if parents do not pay attention, they often do not find the development of their children, especially boys, so it is important for parents to pay proper attention to the development of their children.
What tests are needed for children with precocious puberty
1.Bone age: It can determine whether the bone age is early and predict the adult height.
2.Sex hormone level: generally check the sex hormone six items.
3.B ultrasound: check the breast, uterus, ovaries, follicle size (or boy’s testicle size), determine the sexual development status, also need to check the adrenal function or ultrasound.
4.Pituitary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): Since the pituitary gland is the central system of endocrine, especially for those who suspect central precocious puberty, it needs to be checked
5.Some children with precocious puberty also need to check AFP and HCG to exclude germ cell tumors, etc. Blood thyroxine level should also be checked (low A can cause precocious puberty).
For those who consider the possibility of true (central) precocious puberty, they need to check the LHRH excitation test, referred to as sex hormone excitation test, to determine whether it is true or false precocious puberty.
How to distinguish between central (true) and peripheral (pseudoprecocious) precocious puberty
Central precocious puberty.
1. Early appearance of secondary sexual characteristics: before the age of 8 for girls and 9 for boys
2. Increase in serum gonadotropin level up to puberty level
3.Gonadal enlargement
4. Accelerated linear growth
5.Bone age beyond the age of 1 year or more.
6.Serum sex hormone level elevated to pubertal level
Peripheral precocious puberty.
It is due to the increase of sex steroid hormones in the body to the level of puberty caused by various reasons, so only the early appearance of secondary sexual characteristics, but does not have a complete sexual development program. Bone age is often not significantly advanced.
How to treat children with precocious puberty?
1, pay attention to the control of diet, and eat less health food and some artificial breeding food.
2.If it is peripheral precocious puberty (i.e. pseudo-precocious puberty), you need to take Chinese medicine, such as Taiyin Pill and Zhibei Dihuang Pill, once in the morning and once in the evening, considering the long-term effect on the stomach and appetite, it is recommended to take them after meals.
3, if it is true precocious puberty, and the prediction of lifelong height is not ideal, then you need to play inhibit the development of the needle, that is, GnRH-a needle, currently commonly used are Dafirin needle and inhibit that the needle.
4. We will review the condition at the hospital once every month to monitor the height growth and control of sexual characteristics, and review the bone age and ovarian ultrasound every six months.
Precocious puberty that does not need treatment
1.Sexual maturity progresses slowly (bone age does not exceed age progress) and has no significant effect on adult height.
2.Although the bone age is advanced, the height growth rate is also fast, and the predicted adult height is not impaired. Because youth development is a dynamic process, the above indicators need to be dynamically observed for each individual. For those who do not need treatment for the time being, regular review and evaluation are needed to adjust the treatment plan.