Early Puberty in Girls: Causes and Symptoms (2024)

FAQs

Early Puberty in Girls: Causes and Symptoms? ›

Most commonly, especially in girls, precocious puberty is due to the brain sending signals earlier than it should. There is no other underlying medical problem or trigger. This also can often run in families. Less often, precocious puberty stems from a more serious problem, such as a tumor or trauma.

The cause of precocious puberty often can't be found. Rarely, certain conditions, such as infections, hormone issues, tumors, brain issues or injuries, may cause precocious puberty. Treatment for precocious puberty usually includes medicines to delay puberty.

When your daughter starts to go through puberty, her gonads (ovaries) and adrenal glands (glands that sit on top of the kidneys) release hormones. These hormones cause the first signs of puberty, which are breast development, body odor, underarm hair, pubic hair and acne (pimples).

The signs and symptoms of precocious puberty in both sexes include acne, body odor and a growth spurt. Precocious puberty also causes sexual characteristics to develop early. In girls and children AFAB, these include: Breast development.

The average age for girls to start puberty is 11, while for boys the average age is 12. But it's perfectly normal for puberty to begin at any point between the ages of 8 and 13 in girls and 9 and 14 in boys.

Most commonly, especially in girls, precocious puberty is due to the brain sending signals earlier than it should. There is no other underlying medical problem or trigger. This also can often run in families. Less often, precocious puberty stems from a more serious problem, such as a tumor or trauma.

Untreated precocious puberty usually leads to short stature and can also cause significant emotional and behavioral issues.

Armpit hair is self-explanatory. Any amount will do. At this point, a girl will probably start her periods within 3-6 months, if she hasn't already. It also occurs right after the growth spurt of adolescence.

The onset of breast development in girls less than 8 years of age may be the first sign of precocious puberty or more likely a condition referred to as benign premature thelarche.

How to avoid early puberty in girls? ›

Between ages 8 and 13, girls typically experience the following: Their breasts begin to bud, and their areola (the pigmented area around the nipple) starts to enlarge. They develop a small amount of genital hair. At this stage, they experience a growth spurt of about 2 3/4 inches per year.

Girls generally begin puberty about two years earlier than boys. Puberty for girls usually starts between the ages of 8 and 13. However, Black and Hispanic girls tend to start puberty earlier than white girls (age 7^½ instead of 8).

Girls usually start puberty between ages 8 and 13. Changes your daughter may notice that signify they are going through puberty include: Breast development (usually the first sign) Pubic and armpit hair growth.

For most children, early puberty starts for no known reason. It can run in families. Sometimes there is a problem in the brain, such as an injury, a tumor or an infection. Early puberty can also be caused by a problem in the sex glands (testes or ovaries), the thyroid gland or the adrenal glands.

In hypogonadotropic hypogonadism puberty can be initiated by the use of pulsatile GnRH, gonadotropins, and sex steroids. Sex steroids will induce development of the secondary sex characteristics alone, while combined administration of gonadotropins and GnRH may induce gonadal development including fertility.

Usually, these changes begin between the ages of 8 and 14 for girls, and between 9 and 15 for guys. This wide range in age is normal, and it's why you may develop several years earlier (or later) than most of your friends.

One frequently reported finding is that psychological stress, experienced during early childhood, accelerates pubertal development, a phenomenon termed “psychosocial acceleration” (33).