# Hormone Question: Testosterone, Children, and Penis Length. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 25, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hormone-question-testosterone-children-and-penis-length/313995 "2005-07-25T03:11:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Honesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f04885/32.png) [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hormone-question-testosterone-children-and-penis-length/313995/1 "2005-07-25T03:11:36Z")
No one ever responds to my science questions but here goes: When reading a peer-reviewed journal called _Pediatrics,_ I came across [this article](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=10429141&query_hl=8) that shows rapid growth of a 2 year old male’s penis after application of testosterone. What differentiates a child and an adult in a hormonal sense? I mean, a hormone causes rapid penile growth a boy but we’re taught that this same hormone in a man will cause his penis to shrink. Why is this? What would happen if you one were to continue to give the child testosterone in small amounts? Would his penis continue to grow until infinity? Thanks for reading. - Honesty ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hormone-question-testosterone-children-and-penis-length/313995/2 "2005-07-25T03:21:09Z")
I can only answer part of your question, but I’ll do my bit: The penis will not grow to infinity. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hormone-question-testosterone-children-and-penis-length/313995/3 "2005-07-25T03:26:48Z")
To put it simply, the testosterone caused the boy’s penis to begin early growth into adult size. That is, it made his penis go into early puberty. An adult male’s penis would not respond the same way because it has already been through puberty and is already at adult length. Supplemental testosterone does not make adult penises shrink. Long term use of testosterone or anabolic steroids may cause testicular shrinkage, however, because the testes produce such hormones naturally and some of their function may not be needed when suplemental hormones are administered. ---
**Author:** ![Honesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f04885/32.png) [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hormone-question-testosterone-children-and-penis-length/313995/4 "2005-07-25T03:34:28Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > To put it simply, the testosterone caused the boy’s penis to begin early growth into adult size. That is, it made his penis go into early puberty. An adult male’s penis would not respond the same way because it has already been through puberty and is already at adult length. > > Supplemental testosterone does not make adult penises shrink. Long term use of testosterone or anabolic steroids may cause testicular shrinkage, however, because the testes produce such hormones naturally and some of their function may not be needed when suplemental hormones are administered. I’m sorry, there is a nuance here that I am not getting. Is there a “switch” that the body has that says, “Hey, we already went through puberty!” If so, where/what is it? The boy’s penis started to grow into adult size, I get that, but what I don’t understand is why did it revert back to its normal state (I believe thats what it said in the article). Why isn’t the hormone’ s effects permanent? If I give someone a growth hormone for a year and stop it, does the body say, “Ok, we need to shrink the body back down a foot or two”? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hormone-question-testosterone-children-and-penis-length/313995/5 "2005-07-25T03:45:55Z")
It says that the penile development did not go away but the other signs of virilization did after they boy stopped being exposed to the cream. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hormone-question-testosterone-children-and-penis-length/313995/6 "2005-07-25T04:33:12Z")
> [@Honesty](#): > > The boy’s penis started to grow into adult size, I get that, but what I don’t understand is why did it revert back to its normal state (I believe thats what it said in the article). Why isn’t the hormone’ s effects permanent? Actually, the abstract you linked to says, “ **Except for penile size,** the other signs of virilization diminished several months after the exposure was discontinued.” The other signs of virilization, presumably the pubic hair and acne, are things that require continuous stimulation by the hormone to be maintained. But once the penis grows to a certain size, there’s no mechanism to make it shrink again once the hormonal stimulation is gone. ---
**Author:** ![Honesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f04885/32.png) [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2005, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hormone-question-testosterone-children-and-penis-length/313995/7 "2005-07-25T12:23:11Z")
> [@Bob Scene](#): > > Actually, the abstract you linked to says, “ **Except for penile size,** the other signs of virilization diminished several months after the exposure was discontinued.” > > The other signs of virilization, presumably the pubic hair and acne, are things that require continuous stimulation by the hormone to be maintained. But once the penis grows to a certain size, there’s no mechanism to make it shrink again once the hormonal stimulation is gone. Doh! I feel dumb for not reading carefully. Thanks! 🙂 - Honesty ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hormone-question-testosterone-children-and-penis-length/313995/8 "2005-09-21T22:57:00Z")
Please excuse the bump. Do they have any idea how this may affect the childs future development? Will it result in a stunted puberty, an absence of it, early onset, etc? ---
**Author:** ![yerba\_buena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7ea924/32.png) [@yerba\_buena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yerba_buena)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hormone-question-testosterone-children-and-penis-length/313995/9 "2005-09-21T23:49:59Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > The penis will not grow to infinity. Speak for yourself! > [@Muad'Dib](#): > > Do they have any idea how this may affect the childs future development? Will it result in a stunted puberty, an absence of it, early onset, etc? Probably not yet – cases like this are usually accidental, so they’d need to wait for that one child to grow to puberty. > [@](#): > > This sexual development was induced by incidental and unintentional dermal exposure to a testosterone cream …