Gynecomastia Increase – Are Female Hormones in Water the Cause?
Many more men worldwide are showing up at their cosmetic plastic surgeon to remove or correct their female-like breasts.
The procedure is known as gynecomastia surgery. About 21,000 such operations were done in the United States during 2007, according to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS.)
Plastic surgeons use standard liposuction to take out excess fat. But many gynecomastia cases contain actual female breast tissue which is too thick and fibrous to be liposuctioned. So the surgeon makes an incision in the areola, the dark ring surrounding the nipple, and removes the unwanted tissue.
The patient then wears a compression garment for several weeks.
But what could be the cause?
Doctors already know that some prescribed medicines and drugs, including some street drugs, may lead to “Man boobs.”
Some cases are just inherited from parents, but scientists are stumbling across other causes too.
According to a report on the website Man Boobs Help, one of the causes of gynecomastia may be more female hormones in drinking water.
It’s because gray water is often filtered and recycled. It’s usually safe and clean enough, but the screening process often does not remove chemical compounds, one of which is the estrogen that many women take for birth control.
For instance, Canadian scientists have noticed that many male fish have acquired female characteristics.
Yet another cause, at least according to two cases of gynecomastia in young boys, come from common products.
In two cases involving boys age 4 and 10, the mothers noticed the boys’ breasts were getting larger. While taking medical histories, doctors noticed both lads frequently used products containing lavender oil and tea tree.
Both cases disappeared when the boys quit using those products. Doctors later analyzed the oils and found the substances inhibit the effects of an important male hormone.
Two more doctors wrote in the journal Pediatrics how three young boys developed large breasts after getting too close to a female hormone cream the mothers used. When the cream was taken away, the boys’ breasts shrank.
In 1981 and 1982, Haitian refugees to the U.S. suffered an epidemic of gynecomastia. Writing in the American Journal of Clinical Endocrinology, scientists found ingredients in delousing and hair shampoo causing the female-like breasts.
What do you think? Can everyday products be causing an increase in “man boobs”?
admin @ January 29, 2009