Early puberty is one discussion people have, with less attention given to the issues that go with it.
I have heard people discuss this at different occasions and the focus is the sexual harassments it could trigger.
On one of those days, a mother said to her friend (also a mum): “A lot is changing about children these days”.
I was walking behind them, as they switched to the discussion almost too suddenly. I paid closer attention, as they both jumped on the issue.
They shifted their gist to this topic after a 10-year-old-girl, who could pass for a 14-year-old, passed them.
She was looking big both in body size and height. I could not help but concur with their conclusions.
“She must have started seeing her period,” one of them said.
“Since,” the other women responded, sounding so sure.
That statement brought my attention to the reality – Early Puberty.
This condition is increasingly becoming a growing concern for parents.
While some parents overlook it as one of the very things we see as the world advances, others express concerns because of the issues that go with it.
What Is Early Puberty?
Another name for early puberty is Precocious puberty.
Puberty is the time in life when a person becomes sexually mature. This typically occurs between ages 8 and 13 for girls and ages 9 and 14 for boys (1).
Early puberty is puberty that begins abnormally earlier than the lower age level.
In the majority of cases of early puberty, no underlying cause can be identified.
In a situation where there is no major identifiable cause, it is called idiopathic precocious puberty.
Causes Of Early Puberty
Sometimes, an abnormality in the brain could be the cause of early puberty.
Also, it could begin as a result of a problem such as a tumor or genetic abnormality in the ovaries, testes, or adrenal glands, causing overproduction of sex hormones.
Furthermore, experts break the cause into two parts and this depends on the part of the body where the abnormality occurs.
1. Central Precocious Puberty
This type of early puberty occurs when the abnormality is located in the brain (2).
Here, the brain signals the pituitary gland to begin puberty at an early age.
Furthermore, this is the most common form of early puberty issues. It affects more girls than boys.
The causes of central precocious puberty are brain tumors, prior radiation to the brain, prior infection of the brain and other brain abnormalities.
2. Peripheral Precocious Puberty
Here, the abnormality is not in the brain but in the testicles, ovaries, or adrenal glands.
This abnormality causes the overproduction of sex hormones, like testosterone and estrogens
Causes of this form of early puberty are tumors of the ovary, testis, or adrenal gland, in boys, tumors that secrete a hormone called hCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin (pronounced kawr-ee-ON-ik goh-nad-uh-TROH-pin) and certain rare genetic syndromes, such as McCune-Albright syndrome or familial male precocious puberty.
Others are severe hypothyroidism, in which the thyroid gland secretes abnormally low levels of hormones, disorders of the adrenal gland, such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia and exposure of the child to medicines or creams that contain estrogens or androgens (3)
The Role Of Diet In Early Puberty
You have read earlier that exposure to high levels of estrogen could lead to this condition.
Unfortunately, some parents give little attention to what they fee their children.
Most processed foods that children eat, which contains soy beans, could increase estrogen level in a girl child.
This further triggers increase in estrogen level.
Also, a 2017 study says obesity may contribute to early onset of puberty in girls, while in boys, there is insufficient data. (4).
Research has no clear reason why this happens, but it is logical to say that, as a child increases in size, hormones that would make puberty come also increase.
Having a child that is big in size does not mean you are feeding the child well.
It could be an accumulation of junk foods that is causing the increase in size. A child who eats healthy and exercises will hardly go above their ideal weight.
Parents are quick to give their children processed foods and sweetened drinks.
Cream And Medicines
Before you get a cream for your child, be sure that it does not contain estrogen.
Also, if you get any medication for your child, ask the doctor if the drug has tendencies of increasing estrogen or testosterone level.
This will ensure that the imbalance of hormones does not occur.
Issues With Precocious Puberty
When a child begins to get the features of an adult, there are certain circumstances it could whip up.
Withdrawal/Depression
One of such is withdrawal. The child could withdraw from fun activities in attempt to understand the changes happening.
Parents are to play a great role here to explain the circumstance to the child. This helps reassure the child that there is no issue.
Remember that if puberty comes earlier, the child is not psychologically ready for this sudden changes.
Furthermore, withdrawal from activities further results in depressive feelings.
Rapid Growth And Bone Maturity
Unfortunately, when puberty comes earlier than it should, it could affect the growth of the child.
It can prevent a child from reaching his full height potential (5).
Basically, children grow rapidly in height during puberty and reach their final adult height after puberty.
The child’s growth will stop too soon.
Sexual Issues In Boys
This condition could cause low libido for boys or even cause them to have short stature in adulthood.
Sexual Harassments
When a young girl reaches puberty early, the males begin to get attracted to her.
This is a reason it is important that parents give their children adequate sex education ahead of puberty.
Early Menopause
Early to bed, early to rise.
This is another issue that could arise as a result.
People Also Read: Menstrual Pain: 8 Natural Remedies
If a child hits puberty earlier, chances are that she would hit menopause earlier.
This is why it is important that parent do their best to see that their children eat right.
Treatments
Earlier we stated that not all cases of this condition require medical treatment.
For instance, adjusting in a child’s meal could suppress the release of sex hormones. Stopping the use of a cream that contains estrogen could be the only thing you just need to do.
On the other hand, when it is caused by medical problems, it will require major treatment.
The right treatment stops the sex hormones from rising and it also stops the progression of early puberty (6).
Kindly see a physician for proper test and medications that would suppress the production of the sex hormones.
A healthy lifestyle for a child is one that comprises healthy meals – less of junk foods and sweetened drinks – and adequate level of exercise.
Making sure that your child is within their ideal weight is also very important in this sense.
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Thank you so much for reading.