Puberty at 2-Years-Old: Doctors Baffled How a Child’s Testosterone Level Increased Too Early

A toddler in the United Kingdom was recently reported to have entered the puberty stage at a very young age of two years old after he got exposed to his father's testosterone gel.

As specified in a report from Neoscope, a Futurism publication, the toddler had the bone density of a child more than double his age, and as much as the hormone "as an adult assigned-male-at-birth" person might.

The boy's mother said he also had a "sizable penis, as well as massive "sustained erections" that caused her too much apprehension and therefore, they brought him to several doctors in the UK.

Exposed to His Own Contaminated Environment

An Insider report said, after rounds of tests, someone asked the parents of the child if the latter had been exposed to testosterone treatment. As a result, the child's dad had been using a testosterone gel for some medical treatments.

According to his mother, she spent two years of her life thinking she was protecting and taking care of their child when in fact, "his own environment was contaminated."

It is essential to point out that the symptoms of the child appear to have been a complete accident, rather than an outcome of neglect or abandonment.

However, it is a captivating medical study, not to mention an example of the captivating power of hormones over human bodies.

Cause of Early Puberty

According to the head of pediatric endocrinology Dr. Benjamin Udoka Nwosu, from Cohen Children's Medical Center in New York, the testosterone gel stays on the skin and can partly transfer through clothing. Now, the parents are asking the manufacturer to print a warning to put on the label.

It is also worthless that the early onset of puberty of the toddler was caused by a regular medical treatment used for "gender-affirming care." In this circumstance, the father used the cream for a testicular condition.

Understandably, no one would oppose the use of testosterone gel, even though in this circumstance, it did cause actual danger to a child. So, why exert too much effort to limit and even prohibit similar treatments for transgender individuals?

It is great to have gender-affirming treatments available to "cisgender people," even if some, including the family, in this case, might need to be more cautious in their use.

Testosterone Gel for Gender-Affirming Treatment

FOLX describes testosterone gel as a single route that a lot of "transgender, non-binary, and gender-fluid people" are using to take testosterone for the so-called "gender masculinizing hormone therapy.

This gel is applied to and absorbed through the skin known as transdermal and can generate more gradual changes compared to the injectable testosterone.

According to the Healthline medical website, children are the most exposed to the effects of testosterone gel as their bodies are still in the developing stage.

Such effects can include early puberty like what happened to the two-year-old boy in the earlier-mentioned case, increased aggression and anxiety, stunted growth, and frequent erection in young boys, among others.

For adults who have any contact with children, medical experts advise that they take extra precautions to guarantee that they do not touch their application area.

If living with children, adults using the gel are advised to ensure they store the testosterone gell in a place where they are sure their children cannot get to it.

Related information about children reaching early puberty is shown on TMJ4 News's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Rare Occurrences in Science Times.