Should we inject hormones to 'suppress' early puberty in children?

Many parents, panicking when their children show signs of early puberty such as menstruation, a male voice, early breast development, etc., listen to information on the internet and rush to give their children hormone injections to suppress their early puberty.

Some children start puberty at age 2.

Recently at Children's Hospital 1 (Ho Chi Minh City), doctors have continuously "been" examining children with early puberty, including children as young as 2 and 3 years old who have vaginal bleeding and broken voices... At the Endocrinology, Metabolism and Genetics Clinic of the National Children's Hospital (Hanoi), doctors said that almost every day there are children brought by their families for early puberty examination, among them are children as young as 2 years old.

Dr. Bui Phuong Thao - Deputy Head of the Department of Endocrinology - Metabolism - Genetics (National Children's Hospital) said that currently, children (both boys and girls) begin puberty earlier than before (10-20 years ago). "Currently, for girls, signs of puberty usually begin at age 8, and for boys at age 9. Thus, if signs of puberty appear before that age, it will be considered early puberty. On the contrary, if girls are after 13 years old, boys are after 14 years old and have not yet reached puberty, it will be considered late", Dr. Thao said.

Accordingly, signs of puberty in women often appear as breast development, pubic hair, psychological changes... while in men, it is often a broken voice, penis development, mustache, acne, pubic hair...

Experts say there are many reasons why children go through puberty early.

Adding more information, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Tien Dung, former Head of the Pediatrics Department of Bach Mai Hospital, said that in the past, usually "females were thirteen, males were sixteen" - meaning females were 13 years old and males were 16 years old when they entered puberty. Currently, due to many factors, the ability to have children and the reproductive age are longer than before.

"Children under 8 years old who have their period are considered early, while children 9-10 years old and older are normal, there is nothing to worry about" - Associate Professor Dung explained.

In addition, Dr. Bui Phuong Thao also pointed out the fact that many parents are often worried when they see the "outstanding" development of the mammary glands in girls and rush to take them to the doctor. However, according to Dr. Thao, even for children whose mammary glands develop before the age of 8, but when examined, the bone age is still normal, the uterus and pubic hair do not develop, then it is not considered early puberty.

Do not arbitrarily inject children with "growth-stopping" hormones before age without a doctor's prescription.

According to experts, it is completely reasonable for parents to worry about their children going through puberty early. However, to know whether their children are going through puberty early, parents need to take their children to a specialist at a hospital. They should not listen to information on the internet and then inject their children with hormones that will cause them to "stop growing" without a doctor's prescription.

When going for a check-up, in cases of suspected precocious puberty, children will have their bone age X-rayed and screened to see if there are any abnormalities in their bone age. If there are, the child will have a blood test to see how high their sex hormones are. If it is pseudo-puberty due to diseases such as brain tumors or adrenal tumors, it must be treated immediately.

“For children who have early puberty, it only affects their psychology, so parents should guide and teach them to understand clearly. In addition, it also affects physical development because growth hormones may not be produced in time, making children short because the ends of their bones have closed early. If they go to the hospital, there will be drugs to intervene to slow down the puberty process, helping children grow to their full potential,” said Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Tien Dung.

Accordingly, for children under 6 years old who have reached puberty, the doctor will examine and prescribe hormone injections to suppress it. For cases 6-8 years old or over 8 years old, depending on each specific case, the doctor will have clear instructions. For cases under 6 years old with early puberty, hormone injections will help inhibit the development of secondary sexual characteristics such as breast development, pubic hair... This helps children focus on studying and avoid sexual abuse.

Children come to see a doctor for early puberty at the Endocrinology - Genetics - Metabolism Clinic of the National Children's Hospital. Photo from the internet

Dr. Bui Phuong Thao also added that in the long term, hormone injections will help children grow taller later. Depending on each case, the doctor will advise the family on the pros and cons of hormone injections.

“However, in reality, injecting hormones into children certainly has certain effects, the most typical being hormonal changes, secondly the children have to endure pain, and nextly they will age prematurely, not to mention the cost of treatment,” Thao emphasized.

Dr. Thao also warned that there are some cases where, although endocrinologists have instructed and advised that it is not necessary to inject puberty-inhibiting hormones, families still arbitrarily go out and inject puberty-inhibiting drugs in the hope that their children will grow taller later. Using puberty-inhibiting hormones incorrectly will prevent children from going through normal puberty, affecting their psychological and physiological development.

According to SK&DS