Continued
Getting a Diagnosis
Your child's doctor will likely ask you questions before doing an exam or tests.
- What physical changes have you seen in your child?
- Has their behavior changed recently?
- When did you first notice this? How long has this change been there?
- Is there history of early puberty in your family?
If the symptoms aren't severe, it can be hard to tell if it's CPP. Your doctor may want your child to see a doctor who focuses on children's hormones and growth, called a pediatric endocrinologist. He'll look for signs of puberty, but he may also check:
- Hormone levels
- Bone age
Blood tests check levels of hormones.
X-rays help find out if your child's bones are maturing too early.
MRI or CT scans can rule out a tumor. These tests scan and make pictures of the inside of the body and brain.
For an older child, early development might be normal.
Questions for Your Doctor
- What caused my child's symptoms?
- Is there a way to slow down their development?
- Do we need to treat this?
- Could treating it cause other problems?
- What happens after treatment stops?
- What happens if we don't do anything?
- What's the best way to explain CPP to my child?
- Will my child be OK?
Treatment
If your doctor can find a specific cause, he'll treat that.
In some cases, doctors can use a drug to block sex hormones and prevent further development. A man-made version of GnRH stops the pituitary gland from sending out gonadotropins.
The doctor can give your child a shot once a month or every 3 months, or he could put a small implant under the skin of your child's upper arm, which works for a year. Where they get the shot or implant may hurt a bit, or their skin might get irritated around that spot, but there don't seem to be any long-term side effects.
You'll probably want to keep up the treatment until your child gets old enough to let puberty continue -- around age 11 for girls and 12 for boys.
Most doctors treat a child younger than 7 years old. When you're thinking about whether to treat CPP in an older child, you'll want to think about:
- Your child's age
- How slow or fast they're developing
- How your child has been reacting
- The chance of early menstruation
- Concerns about their height as an adult
Talk these things over with your child's doctor before you make any decisions.