FDA Alert: Testosterone Gel and Children

The FDA has announced that testosterone gel that gets applied to the skin can get lead to exposure in children (also known as secondary exposure). CNN is also running a report on this story. In 2007, did you know that 1.4 million prescriptions were written for AndroGel? 25,000 of those were off-label use in women. There were 370,000 prescriptions for Testim. You don't want young children exposed to testosterone. Even a little bit can lead to sexual changes and also cause kids to exhibit more aggressive behavior (is your kid acting up these days?).

The FDA recommends the following precautions be taken to minimize the potential for secondary exposure:

• Adults who use testosterone gels should wash their hands with soap and warm water after every application;
• Adults should cover the application site with clothing once the gel has dried;
• Adults should wash the application site thoroughly with soap and warm water prior to any situation where skin-to-skin contact with another person is anticipated;
• Children and women should avoid contact with testosterone application sites on the skin of men who use these products; and
• Adults should note that use of any similar, but unapproved, products from the marketplace –including the Internet– that can result in the same serious adverse effects should be avoided.
  

Image source: CNN.