Warning for new parents after baby girl absorbs testosterone gel

A baby girl grew a ‘micropenis’ after laying on her father’s chest in a bizarre case medics say should serve as warning to thousands of new parents.

The case—described by Swedish medics—involved a baby girl who lay down on her father’s bare chest.

This is an important part of newborn care called skin-to-skin contact, and which has several health benefits.

However, in this case the father was using a testosterone gel product, an artificial version of the male sex hormone.

This is a drug commonly prescribed to help men combat low energy and lagging sex drive as they age, colloquially called the ‘manopause’. 

By laying his daughter on his bare chest the man unwittingly exposed her to abnormally high levels of testosterone.

This led to profound changes to her genitalia, with her clitoris growing longer—looking like a small penis—and her labia closing over resembling a male scrotum. 

While local media described this a ‘micropenis’ this isn’t medically correct as that is a specifically male problem that can develop in the genitalia of both boys and men. 

The concerned parents of the girl—who was at this point 10-months old—took her to medics who quickly uncovered the source of the problem via blood tests.

Thankfully, after the man stopped accidently exposing the girl to his testosterone gel her genitalia shrank down. 

Professor Jovanna Dahlgren, an expert in paediatric endocrinology at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, said the case, which occurred eight years ago, was part of a half-dozen similar incidents she cited in her warning.

Talking to the Swedish newspaper Göteborgs-Posten, Professor Dahlgren said she wanted to raise awareness of the dangers hormone treatments posed to children as more and more parents are taking them.

‘I don’t think people always understand how potent these treatments are,’ she said.

‘The parents become completely desperate when they understand what has happened.’

She added there had been another case where a 10-year-old boy developed breasts after being exposed to a female sex hormone treatment his mother was taking. 

The warning comes amid a booming industry of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in the UK with firms a number of private firms marketing the hormone to men.

Testosterone therapy was once reserved for a small number of men who suffered from low levels of the sex hormone. 

However, it now being pitched as a drug which can help men as young as 30 with a variety of minor symptoms, from fatigue to muscle-growth and stronger erections. 

While it is unknown how many men are taking private prescriptions of testosterone NHS data suggests about 80,000 men are prescribed it on the health service alone. 

The risk of childhood exposure to testosterone and other hormone medications is known in Britain. 

In 2023, UK drug safety regulator the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said it had received a report of a British child experiencing ‘increased growth and genital enlargement’ after being exposed to the testosterone gel product their parent was using.

This led the MHRA to request warnings about the risk and warning adults to wash their hands and avoid direct skin-to-skin contact with children be included on testosterone gels, which has been implemented by drug manufacturers. 

Similar warnings are issued to women taking testosterone and other hormone-based medications as part of treatment for the menopause to avoid accidently exposure to other adults and children. 

Testosterone is produced by both men and women. 

While women produce less, it still plays a crucial role in certain bodily functions. 

For men, it is vital for muscle and bone growth, as well as triggering the bodily changes connected with puberty–the appearance of body hair, the deepening of the voice and the arrival of a sex drive.

Research suggests that, after the age of 40, men’s testosterone levels fall about 1 per cent every year. For the majority of men, this will not mean any noticeable changes.

However, some men experience an extreme drop, leading to a condition called hypogonadism–also known as the male menopause or the ‘manopause’.

These men often report depression, loss of sex drive or erectile dysfunction. Other symptoms include poor sleep, brain fog and increased fat around the belly or pectoral muscles, leading to ‘manboobs’.