What are topical male hormones used for?

Topical male hormone (testosterone) is used by men with a deficiency in male hormone.

Yes, but what is it used for topically?

Men with testosterone deficiency can have symptoms that include tiredness, lack of energy, loss of interest in work and sex, and impotence. One delivery system for testosterone replacement is a topical delivery system designed for the testosterone to be absorbed into the body through the skin. It can produce adequate testosterone levels in the man, but at the same time any gel rubbed off on partners, children, or pregnant women can also deliver testosterone through the skin into the partners body potentially resulting in "male like" side effects or harm to the baby.

Thank you. I understand now. My question is: why don't they take a pill instead then? That way it cannot rub off onto anyone else?

Testosterone pills that can be swallowed are not available because the testosterone is digested in the stomach. Injections, patches, gels, and a buccal tablet (stays between the cheek and gum) are the available delivery systems for natural testosterone. Gels are by far the most widely used by doctors. Many doctors and patients are not aware of the recently approved buccal tablet.

Steroids are simply testosteron that has been adjusted for a desired result. Somtimes more androgenic (male characteristic-facial hair, deep voice, aggresivness) somtimes more anabolic (muscular gains). Yes! There are oral steriods! They are harder on the liver than injectables and stay in the body for only a few days. Injectables have much longer effects. If you inject 200 mg of a steroid that your liver eliminates 17mg a day then on the 1st day you use 200 mg, the second day 183mg and so on until it is eliminated. Oral steriods are almost soley used (usually abused) by athletes because of their short life in the body and have little medical use for hormone replacement. They are somtimes used to maintain muscle mass when a patient is unable to maintain usual physical activity such as mono. Injectables are the more common choice for the long term user who has a testosterone defficiency. Topical steriods are not used to alter hormones at all!!!! They do but not as effectivly not to mention the dossage is rediculously low! They are used for skin disorders and rashes such as excema. Codisone is a steroid and so are the ingredients in many anti itch cremes. I know. I am a football player and powerlifter and have severe excema on my feet. Although I do not use anabolic steroids myself I know people who do and have seen the effects and know for a fact that I experience very few of the side effects of steroids from the use of topical steroid cremes. Look at a bottle of embolene, the most powerful topical steroid availble. A large tube contains 17mg of actual steroid. The usual dosage of testosterone or steroids is often around 200! And a tube of embolene can last me a few months. The effect on women however can be significant. Because of the low level of testosterone in women they are very sensative even to small quainties of it. Effects of steroids in women are dependant on dosage. Even small quantities can have a major and somtimes permanant effect. In men however it is usually time related because the have large quantities of testosteron anyway. If the part of your body you put the creme on rubs up against your woman she will be affected even if you notice no side effects of steroids at all, so you should be careful. I mainly wrote this to dispute the previous post saying that topical testosterone was used for hormone treatment. In men you would have to rub a few tubes all over your body a few times a day to get noticable effect from anything over the counter and even with most prescriptions.

Hey, thanks for the info! I was confused earlier, that is the only reason I had asked those questions. But, thanks for clarifying.
Just out of curiosity, the hormone injections (and pills) that they give you when you have bad hives (or something like that) what are classified as? I mean, will these particular steroids build muscle mass if used continuosly, or are they just used for the above mentioned?
I am not wanting to use them, I just wondered as I have been given it before for hives.

Thanks so much for the information on testosterone use in athletes. I am not an athlete and am only aware of prescription use of testosterone and other prescription anabolic steroids (often used to treat the wasting conditions of chronic disease such as cancer and aids). Your information on oral anabolic steroid side effects is spot-on...They can be dangerous. However, I am also very familiar with the use of prescription "testosterone" and the topical use is the most frequently prescribed testostereone by endocrinologists and urologists for men with "hypogonadism". Hypogonadism is a condition where the testicles produce too little testosterone usually resulting in levels less than 200 pg/ml. The normal range is from 300-1050 pg/ml. These individuals are symptomatic and are not sure why they are so tired and uninterested in their previous pursuits. There are many men in the us so affected, but few who seek treatment. The highest occurrence of hypogonadism is at age 50 and older. Of those who seek treatment the most prescribed medication at this time is a testosterone gel which brings testosterone levels back into the normal range. If you are interested in the prescription products I refer to, you can find them on the fda website. On the fda website you can also find the study results for the gel which demonstrate tranference to partners. More than 165,000 men in the us use testosterone gel to treat their hypogonadism, mainly men in their 50's, 60's, and 70's. Transference to children (of the few younger men; and grandchildren of the many more older men) has been documented to be a problem. I am seeking information on cases where the female partner may also be symptomatic from the testosterone gel transference from prescriptions given to hypogonadal men by endocrinologists and urologists. The study done by the manufacturer and posted with the review on the fda website was done with male/female partners and the testosterone level in the women rose significantly in that study. You are lucky to be young and virile, other men, especially older men are not so fortunate.

Please accept my apology for an error I noted in my earlier reply. The normal range for testosterone in adult men is 300-1050 ng/dl (not pg/ml).

Just today I ran across a report in a medical journal that may be of interest on this topic. Here it is:
pediatrics 1999 aug;104(2):e23 (issn: 1098-4275)
yu ym; punyasavatsu n; elder d; d'ercole aj
division of pediatric endocrinology, department of pediatrics, university of north carolina, chapel hill, north carolina 27599-7220, usa.
including penile enlargement and growth of pubic hair and facial acne, developed in a 2-year-old boy over a period of months. This sexual development was induced by incidental and unintentional dermal exposure to a testosterone cream that was applied to his father's arm and back as a part of body building regimen. Except for penile size, the other signs of virilization diminished several months after the exposure was discontinued.
Fyi