I don’t think people always understand how potent these treatments are,’ one doctor said of the hormone gel.
A BABY girl grew a ‘micropenis’ after lying on her dad’s chest that was covered in a hormone gel.
One expert says the bizarre case should serve as a warning to all parents.
Swedish doctors said the newborn was accidentally exposed to dangerously high levels of testosterone during skin-to-skin contact.
The unidentified father had applied a hormone gel, often prescribed to men suffering from low energy or sex drive, sometimes referred to as the ‘manopause’.
Soon after, he placed his daughter on his bare chest, unknowingly transferring the drug to her skin.
This triggered dramatic changes to her genitals.
Her clitoris grew longer, resembling a small penis, and her labia fused into a shape similar to a scrotum.
Local media called it a ‘micropenis’ as they reported warnings from Professor Jovanna Dahlgren, a specialist in paediatric endocrinology at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg.
But the term is incorrect, as it only applies to underdeveloped male genitalia.
The baby’s worried parents took her to doctors when she was 10 months old.
Blood tests quickly revealed the cause – dangerously high levels of testosterone.
Once the dad stopped accidentally exposing her to the hormone gel, her genitals began to shrink back to normal.
Professor Dahlgren said the case, which happened eight years ago, was one of at least six similar incidents she has seen.
Speaking to Swedish newspaper Göteborgs-Posten, she urged parents to be more aware of the risks hormone treatments can pose to children.
“I don’t think people always understand how potent these treatments are,” she said, according to MailOnline. “The parents become completely desperate when they understand what has happened.”
She said in another case, a 10-year-old boy developed breasts after being exposed to oestrogen cream his mother was using.
New popular treatment
The warning comes as testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) surges in popularity in the UK, with a growing number of private firms marketing the hormone to men.
Happy Mondays star Shaun Ryder has previously said TRT “changed my life”.
The 61-year-old, who once admitted to “trying every drug around”, now uses testosterone gel to boost libido and energy.
Testosterone, which is prescribed on the NHS, is usually reserved for men whose plunging levels aren’t lifestyle-related, suggesting they have late-onset hypogonadism.
The rare condition causes delayed puberty and small testes, according to the NHS.
Studies estimate that just two to six per cent of men suffer from late-onset hypogonadism.
Dr Channa Jayasena, an endocrinologist at Imperial College London, previously told Sun Health that the NHS is seeing more men who have either started testosterone illegally or have been put on it by private clinics.
“Most of these men should never have been on testosterone in the first place,” he said.
Taking testosterone unnecessarily can increase the risk of blood clots, high blood pressure, and cholesterol, he added.
For these men, using testosterone is like “putting a plaster over a cut,” Dr Jayasena said.
“It’ll mask the symptoms, but in reality, you’re still unwell.”
