The little girl began to show unexpected physical changes after spending months cuddling with her dad. The strange discovery has since sparked concern among doctors and parents alike.
This unusual case took place in Sweden, and it’s not the only one. Experts say that at least six other similar incidents have been reported in the country so far.
Now, she’s speaking out and encouraging parents everywhere to be extremely careful when using a certain type of medication, especially around young children, because of how “potent” it can be.
In this case, the baby had often laid directly on her dad’s bare chest. This skin-to-skin bonding was intended to be a sweet and loving moment, but it ended up having unexpected consequences as the girl’s genitals started to show unusual changes.
As it turns out, her father had been using a testosterone gel. It’s a medication that delivers synthetic testosterone to the body through the skin.
This type of gel is commonly given to men who have low testosterone levels or symptoms like fatigue and a reduced sex drive.
While some women might benefit from testosterone for things like low energy or sex drive, the Mayo Clinic says there’s still a lot we don’t know about what happens when women or girls are exposed to more testosterone than their bodies naturally make.
Unfortunately, the dad wasn’t aware of the risks. He often held his baby girl against his bare chest, unknowingly transferring the hormone to her skin.
Professor Dahlgren is now warning other parents to think twice when using powerful hormone treatments. She emphasizes that these substances can seriously affect a child’s hormone levels and cause noticeable physical changes.
Tests showed the baby had extremely high levels of testosterone in her blood, far beyond what’s considered normal for a child her age.
Thankfully, once the source of exposure was removed, the little girl’s body started to return to normal. Her genitalia began to shrink, and the elevated hormone levels went back down as well.
She strongly encourages all parents to think carefully before using hormone-based treatments around kids, even if they seem harmless.
“The parents become completely desperate when they understand what has happened.”