Patient's question:
The early maturation incident in current infant formula has caused the breasts of girls to begin developing. Will they have very large breasts when they grow up if they develop so early? If early development occurs, is treatment necessary? Should it be allowed to continue developing or should it be stopped? Many people online say that infant formula can enhance breast size. Is that really true?Doctor's answer:
The etiology of precocious puberty is very complex and can be divided into two major categories: central and peripheral. Central precocious puberty has ovulation, menstrual cycles, and fertility, also known as complete precocious puberty; peripheral precocious puberty lacks ovulation and only exhibits premature development of secondary sexual characteristics, also known as incomplete precocious puberty. Whether a child has precocious puberty must be determined through a series of examinations and laboratory tests. First, all obvious causes of precocious puberty must be ruled out, such as accidental ingestion of endocrine drugs. This requires detailed and comprehensive medical history collection, including the development of secondary sexual characteristics, vaginal development, skeletal examination, basal body temperature measurement, and results of vaginal smear tests. The determination of serum hormone levels helps differentiate between central and peripheral precocious puberty. In central precocious puberty, the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) are elevated and exhibit periodicity, whereas in peripheral precocious puberty, these two sex hormones are often undetectable.