Minoxidil can lead to “werewolf syndrome” in children; understand

Minoxidil can lead to “werewolf syndrome” in children; understand


European regulatory bodies have issued a warning and changed the drug’s information leaflet to prevent children from having direct contact with the anti-baldness drug

Baldness is an inherited genetic characteristic that affects half of men over the age of 50. People bothered by lack of hair can seek help from medications. One of these is Minoxidil, sold freely in pharmacies across the country.

However, the Pharmacovigilance Center of Navarra, Spain, has issued a warning. The State Department has found that children living with parents who use the lotion version of the drug may develop hypertrichosis, an abnormal growth of body hair. Around here they’ve nicknamed this medical condition “werewolf syndrome.”

There were 11 cases of breastfed infants presenting with hypertrichosis. The theory is that these children were accidentally exposed to Minoxidil. Exposure can be skin-to-skin or even oral, when the child touches the skin of the adult using Minoxidil. The symptoms disappeared when the family member stopped taking the drug.

The Pharmacovigilance Center has warned that children’s exposure to Minoxidil is serious, as the product is not recommended for children. “The onset of hypertrichosis in children can be alarming and lead to numerous laboratory and imaging tests […]which can create great stress for the patients’ families”, reads the bulletin released by the centre.

The case was taken to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which changed the medicine’s package leaflet in October. Now, in addition to recommending washing your hands after using the medicine, the leaflet recommends that breastfeeding mothers avoid contact with the parts of the body where the medicine has been applied.

Source: Terra

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