Medical Corner

Precocious puberty refers to the appearance of physical and hormonal signs of pubertal development at an earlier age than is considered normal. For girls younger than 8 years; and for boys, onset of puberty before age 9 years is considered precocious.

Signs of precocious puberty

Precocious puberty in girls is characterized as follows:

1.The first and most obvious sign of early puberty is usually breast enlargement, which may initially be unilateral
2.Pubic and axillary hair may appear before, at about the same time as, or well after the appearance of breast tissue; axillary odor usually starts about the same time as the appearance of p***c hair
3.Menarche is a late event and does not usually occur until 2-3 years after onset of breast enlargement
4.The pubertal growth spurt occurs early in female puberty and usually is evident by the time of initial evaluation.

Precocious puberty in boys is characterized as follows:

1.The earliest evidence of puberty is testicular enlargement, a subtle finding that often goes unnoticed by patients and parents
2.Growth of the p***s and sc***um typically occurs at least a year after testicular enlargement
Accelerated linear growth (the pubertal growth spurt) occurs later in the course of male puberty than in female puberty but often takes place by the time other physical changes are noted.

Good night