Question
I have an eight-year-old daughter, and recently, I’ve noticed some developmental symptoms in her, but at this age, she shouldn’t be developing yet. I took her to see a doctor, and after examination, the doctor said she might be showing signs of pediatric female precocious puberty. My wife and I are very worried and want to know what the cause might be.
Answer
Female precocious puberty refers to the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics before the age of eight, such as breast development, the onset of menstruation, and the growth of pubic and armpit hair. Firstly, you need to go to the hospital for tests of sexual hormone levels, ovarian ultrasound, and pituitary MRI to determine whether it is caused by peripheral precocious puberty or central precocious puberty. If it is caused by a tumor, the entire tumor needs to be removed and treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. If it is idiopathic precocious puberty, then auxiliary suppression of the gonad’s activation is needed to achieve normal height growth.