A 2-year-old boy, Barnaby, showed signs of puberty, growing pubic hair, and developing a larger reproductive part after he was exposed to his dad’s testosterone gel.
Speaking in an interview, the boy’s mother from Brighton in the UK became aware of the problem when her son grew noticeably large for his age.
Whenever Erica Brownsell took her 2-year-old, Barnaby, to the play area, other parents would ask why a child his size was still drinking from a bottle. On one occasion, she said, a stranger remarked that “he looked like a little man”. She said some people had called him a “Viking” or “Samson” because of his muscular build. However, it was only after Brownsell saw pubic hair around Barnaby’s “sizable manhood” that she got seriously worried.
“I knew it wasn’t normal,” the 43-year-old mom said, noting that her toddler resembled a 4- or 5-year-old boy. “He’d have massive, sustained erections and his height and weight were off the charts”.
Brownsell further said: “He weighed 26 pounds at the age of 1 and put on over two pounds every month between the ages of 12 and 18 months. It wasn’t fat, just muscle”.
Dr. Tony Hulse, a pediatric endocrinologist at Everlina London Children’s Hospital in the UK, was somewhat baffled when Brownsell consulted him in March. Barnaby had as much testosterone in his system as an adult male
Blood work showed that Barnaby had an abnormally high level of testosterone, as much as a grown man when it should be negligible for a boy his age. He also had the bone density of a 4 or5-year-old child. Further tests ruled out the most common causes, such as an endocrine tumor or a congenital disorder that affects the adrenal glands.
“It was very scary,” Brownsell said. “Nobody seemed to know what was going on”.
Then one of Hulse’s colleagues made a suggestion. She wondered whether Barnaby had been exposed for long periods to an artificial testosterone treatment meant for adults.
Hulse told local media that he emailed Brownsell to ask if the child ever come into contact with the medication.
“My husband had been using testosterone gel for several years,” Brownsell said, explaining that Barnaby’s father, Peter, was born with a complex testicular condition.
Peter Brownsell applied testosterone gel to his skin every day, not knowing that the substance was being transferred to his son. She said they were shocked to learn that the generous amount of topical gel that he applied every day may have caused Barnaby’s issues.
“I spent two years of my life thinking that I was protecting and taking care of him when in fact his own environment was contaminated,” Brownsell said.
According to Brownsell, her husband used the product, brand-named Testogel, on his skin to help correct his testosterone deficiency.
Dr. Benjamin Udoka Nwosu, the head of pediatric endocrinology at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York, told local media that the absorption of testosterone gel or cream, typically applied to the upper arms and shoulders, is never complete.
“There’s some testosterone left on the skin, even hours after the application,” Nwosu said. “Family members and other individuals who have close contact with the male patient are at risk of direct exposure.”
The doctor said that the testosterone gets into the bloodstream even when the patient wears the clothing.
“Studies have shown that even if you cover the site with a T-shirt, 40 to 48% of the hormone can be transferred,” Nwosu said.
Dr. Hulse noted that he was “99.99% sure” that Brownsell’s hormone treatment triggered Barnaby’s puberty at an extraordinarily young age.
The physician, who strongly advises people to use disposable gloves when they apply the gel, said he was relieved to tell Barnaby’s parents that his chronological age would eventually catch up with his body. He explained that the boy’s testosterone levels would return to normal now that his dad had switched to testosterone injections.
“Barnaby will stop growing so rapidly,” Hulse said, adding that the problem was caught relatively early and “hopefully it won’t have done any long-term damage”.
Dr. Husle is now backing Brownsell’s campaign to raise awareness about the risk to children of testosterone gel.
Brownsell wants to see a prominent warning introduced in the UK on packages of Testogel, along with specific leaflet instructions.
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