Evamist dangerous for children and pets?
Evamist, a spray that is used to control hot flashes during menopause and pre menopause, has been found by the United States Food and Drug Administration to be associated with early puberty début and early breast development in young children.
The symptom has been reported to eight children between the ages of three and five which have experienced puberty breast development and breast enlargement after being exposed to Evamist. The exposure does not need to be long, and the children were accidentally exposed to it, for example when being hugged by someone that previously used Evamist. The general symptoms observed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are mammary or nipple enlargement and swelling of the vulva. The producers of Evamist are the Ther-Rx Corporation, and they make Evamist with estrogen as a main ingredient. One of the effects of estrogen is to help breasts develop, so it is only normal that a person exposed to it would experience breast growth and the effects are similar as the ones of other estrogen containing products, so the children react as if they were taking birth control pills. Dr. Marcel Casavant, the medical director of the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, says that cases of people taking estrogen products that are not prescribed for them are quite common and many of them are children that get exposed to oral contraceptives. There is no knowledge regarding the amount of estrogen containing Evamist the eight children were exposed to, but experts say that even contact with a small amount of the product might cause breast development. It is all about the concentration of estrogen, so small amount of the spray are enough to turn on the cells that will eventually cause the growing of the breasts.
Dr. Philip Landrigan, director of the Children’s Environmental Health Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, says that this a very strong chemical, so even a little exposure can cause a lot of damage so it is wise to inform people about the risks, since there is not enough information available to the wide public regarding the long term consequences of estrogen usage. But the general expert opinion is that the children have been constantly exposed to the chemical, since the discontinuing of the exposure or use will make the breast tissue regress. Women can continue using Evamist if their doctor recommends it, but they have to be cautious when using it around children or pets, because animals too seem to react to it. The touching of the skin does not lead to immediate absorption and if the skin is cleaned or washed the effect will vanish. The best safety measure is to use the spray when children or pets are not in the area, so there is zero exposure for them to the estrogen spray.
