Menarquia is the girl’s first menstruation, which usually occurs in adolescence, between the age of 9 and 15, but can vary depending on the lifestyle, hormonal factors, obesity and menstruation history of the same woman.It is classified as:
More than half of Brazilian girls have their first period until age 13, and at 14, more than 90% of girls already have their period, however, when the girl has her period before age 8, parents They should take the girl to the pediatrician to investigate what is going on, as diseases may be involved.
The first signs and symptoms of early first menarca are the onset, before age 8, of:
The girl may also notice whitish or yellowish discharge from her vagina a few months before the first period.
The first menstruation occurred earlier and earlier, before the 1970s, the first menstruation took place between the age of 16 and 17, but lately, girls have had their period much earlier, since the age of 9 in several countries, and the causes are not always clear.Possible causes of early first menstruation include:
In addition, when the girl is exposed to estrogen hormones at an early age, the chances of an early menarchia may increase. Some situations in which the girl may be exposed to estrogen include taking the birth control pill by the mother during pregnancy and/or lactation., and using ointment to separate small lips, in case of female phymosis, for example.
When the girl has her first period before age 8, the pediatrician may be suspicious of any changes in her health, so she normally evaluates the girl’s body by observing breast, armpit and groin growth, and may require tests such as LH, estrogen, TSH and T4, bone age, pelvic ultrasound and adrenal ultrasound.When your first period occurs before age 6, you can also order tests such as central nervous system MRI to check for serious changes cause menstruation so early.
The main consequences of the first period are psychological and behavioral disorders; Increased risk of sexual abuse.Small in adulthood; increased risk of obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke and certain cancers, such as breast cancer, due to early exposure to the hormone estrogen.
For example, the pediatrician may suggest that parents perform treatment, delaying the girl’s first period to age 12, using monthly or quarterly injections of a hormone that causes puberty to recede.When the first period arrives too early and is caused by a disease, it should be treated, and menstruation disappears and returns when treatment is discontinued.