Signs of early puberty that parents need to pay attention to
At the age of 6, Anh Thu developed breasts and had her period... making her parents worried.
The first time they saw their daughter menstruating, the family worried that she had been sexually abused. When they went to the hospital, the parents found out that their daughter had started menstruating.
Like girls, boys can also experience early puberty. At the age of 7, Tien Nam was taller than his peers, had a muscular body, a deep voice, acne on his face, and pubic hair. His family saw something unusual about him so they took him to see a doctor. The doctor said that Tien Nam had early puberty syndrome, and if he did not receive treatment, he would lose the chance to grow taller when he reached adulthood.
Dr. Nguyen Thi Hoan, Department of Endocrinology - Metabolism - Genetics, National Children's Hospital, said that the phenomenon of early puberty in our country is increasing, significantly affecting children's psychology and physiology.
Puberty usually lasts from 3 to 5 years. Boys with precocious puberty often grow very quickly in height, from 10 to 15 cm a year, have a deep voice, acne, pubic hair, mustache, strong muscles, testicular volume increases by more than 4 ml and have body odor. Girls with precocious puberty have abnormally large breasts, possibly one-sided, increased vaginal secretions, menstruation before the age of 8, pubic hair and armpit hair appear before or after breast enlargement. Boys who show signs of puberty before the age of 10 and girls who show signs of puberty before the age of 9 are called precocious puberty.
"Early puberty causes children to have psychological crises, easily fall into anxiety, confusion, lack of confidence about their body, and are at risk of being harassed, sexually abused, and having unwanted pregnancies," Dr. Hoan emphasized. On the other hand, children who go through puberty early are also prone to genital infections and impotence due to early and prolonged masturbation at a young age. Many parents are proud when they see their children go through puberty early and have a more muscular body than their peers. However, these cases will certainly be shorter than the standard height when they reach adulthood because sex hormones stimulate bone growth, causing the ends of the bones to close early, making it impossible to grow in height.
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| Nowadays, the rate of early puberty in children is increasing, seriously affecting their psychology. Photo:AN |
Advances in medicine to treat precocious puberty are promising. Doctors often have to inject drugs that inhibit the hypothalamus-pituitary axis to stop the signs of precocious puberty in children. "Hormonal drugs for children must be used as prescribed by a doctor. Parents should not arbitrarily take their children for hormone injections to inhibit their development," the doctor warned. For young children, eating a balanced diet, exercising, and using foods with clear origins are most important.
In particular, parents need to regularly confide and share with their children their worries to relieve psychological burdens and avoid serious consequences.
