Does a hard lump in a child's breast mean precocious puberty?

Written by Zeng Hai Jiang
Pediatrics
Updated on September 02, 2024
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Children's breasts have lumps, and it is indeed necessary to consider whether it is precocious puberty, but there are other conditions that can cause lumps in children's breasts. For example, cysts or other solid occupying lesions. Besides the development of secondary sexual characteristics, including the development of breasts, growth of axillary hair, and even menstruation in girls, if these secondary sexual characteristics appear before the age of nine and are accompanied by a recent rapid growth in height, then we need to consider the possibility of precocious puberty.

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Written by Quan Xiang Mei
Pediatrics
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What are good foods for girls with precocious puberty to eat?

Girls with precocious puberty should primarily consume green, seasonal foods with no added ingredients, such as vegetables, fruits, and meats. It's best to eat seasonal products and avoid off-season fruits, like those transported from far away, as they often contain additives that can exacerbate precocious puberty. Additionally, in everyday life, including snacks and fried foods, as well as some fast foods, it is best not to consume these at all. Dairy products, soy products, and honey products, which tend to contain higher levels of estrogen, should also be avoided or consumed minimally.

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Written by Quan Xiang Mei
Pediatrics
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Premature breast pain has now stopped hurting, does that mean it's healed?

When girls develop breasts before the age of eight, they may experience pain at the breast bud nodules. Pain does not necessarily mean recovery; it is possible that as the breast bud enlarges, the pain will naturally disappear. Whether treatment is needed once precocious puberty occurs and whether it has reached a level of cure mainly depends on the assessment through pediatric bone age, gonadal ultrasound examinations, or a combination of brain pituitary MRI and blood hormone levels to analyze the severity of the condition. For mild cases, with appropriate medication, diet, and exercise guidance, children can reach a basic level of clinical cure. Severe cases require the control of the child's sexual development through the injection of gonadal hormones or hormone-releasing analogues. Psychological impacts due to early sexual development may also necessitate behavioral and psychological interventions.

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Written by Zeng Hai Jiang
Pediatrics
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What should I do if precocious puberty is not treated in time?

Precocious puberty is defined as the abnormal condition where secondary sexual characteristics develop before the age of eight in girls and nine in boys. The harm of this disease includes shorter adult height, earlier sexual behavior, and suppressed personality, among other effects. The principle of treatment primarily focuses on improving the child's adult height, with treatments mainly including medication and etiological treatment. If diagnosed and treated early, the prognosis is generally good, and the final adult height can be significantly improved. If treatment is not administered in a timely manner, and the epiphyses of the bones have closed, it may not be possible to alter the final height.

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Written by Dong Xian Yan
Pediatrics
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What symptoms will appear in the pituitary gland with precocious puberty?

Children with precocious puberty should undergo a pituitary gland examination, which may reveal symptoms in two aspects: 1. Imaging examination such as pituitary MRI, which might uncover tumors in the pituitary gland that could lead to precocious puberty. 2. Hormone level tests, mainly involving the secretion of hormones controlled by the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. For example, the secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone can cause precocious puberty. Precocious puberty is a relatively common endocrine disorder in children. Generally, it can be diagnosed in girls before the age of eight and in boys before the age of nine if secondary sexual characteristics appear.

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Written by Huang Kun Mei
Pediatrics
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Should people with precocious puberty eat fewer eggs?

Children with precocious puberty can normally eat eggs, but they should avoid eating fried foods, including chicken. It is also important to determine the cause of the child's precocious puberty, such as whether there is a hormone abnormality, for example, high levels of sex hormones, or if the child exhibits breast development, enlarged testicles, or premature growth of underarm and pubic hair, etc. It is necessary to check the child's sex hormones and growth hormones in a timely manner, including checking their bone age. If it is confirmed that the child indeed has precocious puberty, timely and targeted intervention treatments should be provided.