7-year-old girl grows beard and hair all over her body due to anorexia medication

Near Tet, Doctor Nguyen Thanh Sang - University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City received a phone call from a mother saying that her "7-year-old daughter has a beard".

Because the examination was done over the phone, the doctor advised the mother to take her child to an endocrinologist. However, the mother did not take her daughter.

A month later, the baby's mother called Dr. Sang again when the baby's beard and body hair condition became more and more severe. Concluding that the baby girl had a hormonal disorder, the doctor continued to advise the mother to take the baby to an endocrinologist to be sure.

About an hour later, the mother took her daughter to where Dr. Nguyen Thanh Sang worked and asked him to come out and help examine her.

"When I first met him, I immediately realized that he had Cushing's syndrome (an endocrine disease caused by dysfunction of the adrenal cortex, causing chronic uncontrolled increase in glucocorticoid hormones) and hair growing all over his face, mouth, arms and legs" - Dr. Sang recalled when he met the child patient.

At first, the baby's mother denied giving her medicine, but when the doctor questioned her, the mother admitted that when she saw her daughter was thin, she took her to a doctor for examination and got medicine.

Since taking the medicine from that doctor, the girl has completely changed her eating habits, always demanding food, becoming plump and chubby.

Seeing the baby girl "more fleshy" made the whole family happy because they had gone to many places for nutritional check-ups but the results were not positive.

During the 6 months of taking the medicine, the girl gained 10 kg. However, according to Dr. Sang, the girl was not underweight 6 months before.

"Children between the ages of 3-7 grow rapidly in height, making them look thinner but in reality their height and weight are still within normal standards" - Dr. Sang shared.

Checking the medicine the baby used, it was 10 packs of 5 colorful pills, no label, no prescription.

The baby's mother told Dr. Sang that each time she goes to the doctor, she will receive 10 packs for 300,000 VND. Every day, crush 1 pack and put it into syrup for the baby to drink.

Side effects of corticosteroids

In the medicine bag, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Sang realized there was a Dexamethasone pill. When he touched the back of the baby's neck, the doctor discovered a very large fatty lump behind.

"Dexamethasone (also known as dexa) is a corticosteroid with very strong anti-inflammatory effects, as anyone working in the medical field knows. I have used dexamethasone for patients with thrombocytopenia or hemolytic anemia, and even as a chemotherapy drug for cancer" - Dr. Sang said, adding that its side effects are numerous and extremely harmful, some of which have very serious complications on the liver and kidneys.

This medicine is only used to treat life-threatening diseases and the patient accepts the side effects. It is only used for a short time to limit complications.

The girl took a 4 mg pill, equivalent to 40 kg of weight, while she weighed 25 kg. In fact, the medicine she took led to immune suppression, to treat a serious illness, not to stimulate appetite.

Among the side effects, dexamethasone stimulates the taste buds, causing a feeling of hunger and water retention in the body. These two effects cause corticosteroid users to generally experience swelling and weight gain.

Dr. Sang said that corticoids should never be used for children under 3 years old, because the drug affects cartilage, affecting future height.

One month after being advised to take medication and seeing an endocrinologist, the 7-year-old girl's symptoms improved.

According to Dr. Sang, parents should stop looking for medicine to cure anorexia in their children. Don't trade your child's liver, kidneys, or even osteoporosis in old age for a few kilos of weight.