Supplements That Help With AndroGel Transfer to Women and Children

Is any supplement part of the transfer precautions?

Supplements are not part of the label's transfer precautions. The Teva testosterone gel 1% label says to strictly follow these precautions to minimize secondary exposure: children and women should avoid contact with unwashed or unclothed application sites, patients should wash hands with soap and water immediately after application, and patients should cover the application site with clothing after the gel has dried. It also lists washing the site before skin-to-skin contact is anticipated [1].

What the supplement studies measured

In a study of a different, 2.5% testosterone gel, about 60% of applied testosterone was recoverable from skin after 8 hours, compared with about 14% when the skin had been washed with water [3]. In a transfer study involving 28 men, intense skin contact with a volunteer who had applied the gel produced no rise in serum testosterone in men whose own testosterone production had been suppressed with norethisterone enanthate [3].

The supplement studies that turned up measured other things. The vitamin D data came from a cross-sectional study of 2,299 men referred for coronary angiography, with no gel exposure [2]. The DIM trial measured urinary estrogen metabolites in 19 postmenopausal women with a history of early-stage breast cancer, over 30 days [4]. The saw palmetto study scored hair growth in 100 men with androgenetic alopecia over 24 months [5]. None of them tested gel transfer.

What about children?

The label says children should avoid contact with unwashed or unclothed application sites [1]. The reported signs include genital enlargement, pubic hair, increased erections and libido, aggressive behavior and advanced bone age. In most cases these signs regressed when exposure was removed, but in a few, genital size or bone age did not fully normalize [1].

What about women and pregnancy?

For adult women, the label names changes in body hair distribution, a significant increase in acne, and other signs of virilization as findings it associates with possible secondary exposure to testosterone gel [1].

Testosterone gel 1% is contraindicated in women who are pregnant because it can cause virilization of the female fetus, and the label says a pregnant woman who is exposed should be apprised of the potential hazard to the fetus [1].