Signs of early puberty that parents need to pay attention to
Baby girl Anh Thu has developed breasts and had menstruation since she was 6 years old, making her parents worried.
The first time their daughter had her period, her family was worried and thought she had been sexually abused. Only when they went to the hospital did they learn that she 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 noticed something was wrong with 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.
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 body odor. Girls with precocious puberty have abnormally large breasts, possibly one-sided, increased vaginal secretions, menstruation before 8 years old, pubic hair and armpit hair appear before or after breast enlargement. Boys who show signs of puberty before 10 years old and girls who show signs of puberty before 9 years old 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 friends. However, these cases will certainly be shorter than the standard height when they reach adulthood because sex hormones stimulate bone growth, causing the bone ends 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 to get hormone injections to inhibit their development," the doctor warned. For young children, eating a balanced diet, exercising and using foods with clear origins are the most important things.
In particular, parents need to regularly confide and share their worries with their children to relieve psychological burdens and avoid serious consequences.
