Around 20 Spanish children ended up growing hair all over their bodies after being administered hair restoring medicine, instead of syrup for upset stomachs.
In a shocking incident first in the summer of 2019, almost two dozen children reportedly started exhibiting symptoms of hypertrichosis, aka “werewolf syndrome”. They started growing hair excessively all over their bodies, after being administered minoxidil, a drug that stimulates hair growth, instead of omeprazole, usually prescribed for gastric problems. The mix-up allegedly happened after mislabeled syrups were delivered to pharmacies in Granada and Valencia, which chemsist prescribed to treat the upset stomachs of little ones. Over a year since hypertrichosis symptoms were first reported, the families of affected children claim their hair is still growing excessively, but justice has not been served.
Photo: video screengrab
Spanish newspaper El Espanol last year featured the story of Amaya and Daniel, a couple from Cantabria who last April noticed that their daughter had developed a mustache. She had light brown hair, but at under 22 weeks old, their daughter had a black mustache. Before long, the same dark hair started growing on her forehead. They went to a pediatrician for a checkup, but the symptoms only got worse.
Weeks later, the little girl’s body was covered with the same black hair. On her back, from top to bottom, on the fingers, on her legs, on the face, on the shoulders, it grew everywhere. After visiting the pediatrist again, Amaya and Daniel were asked if any of their respective families had a history of excessive hair growth, which neither of them knew about. Then they were asked about any medicine that the girl had taken and that’s how they ended up identifying the culprit…
Like many babies, Amaya’s daughter suffered from gastric reflux problems and was prescribed omeprazole. Too young to take the drug in capsule form, she was given a syrup prepared by a chemist at a local pharmacy. Unfortunately, the mixture contained an ingredient it shouldn’t have, which instead of helping her upset stomach, caused hair to excessively grow all over her body.
As soon as it discovered that certain batches of omeprazole syrup had been contaminated with minoxidil, the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products immediately drew them from the market, but by that point, several cases similar to the one described above had been reported in places like Valencia and Madrid.
Last summer, the story of this shocking mix-up that caused hypertrichosis symptoms in around 20 children made news headlines in Spain, sparking outrage among the general public. An investigation began, and authorities promised that those responsible would be brought to justice. However, RT Spain recently reported that, over a year since the mix-up was discovered, many of the affected children continue to suffer from hypertrichosis, and no one has been held accountable.
A criminal lawsuit is directed against a laboratory and several companies that import and distribute medicines, but no substantial progress has been made. Those affected have reported delays, since even the request for evidence has been left unanswered for months.
According to the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS), in September of last year 12 of the affected children had recovered or were in the recovery phase (between 1 and 5 months after the suspension of treatment), in another five cases the progress had not yet been appraised, and no information was available on the other six cases.
However, the lawyers of several families whose children were affected by the drug mix-up have denounced in the Torrelavega Court that most of the kids’ body hair continues to grow.
