Heightmaxxing Trend Sparks Warning as Teens Take Cancer Drugs
Doctors say the prescription cancer drug can cause vision damage, nosebleeds and severe pain, while Johnson & Johnson says it is not approved for pediatric use.
- Experts are warning parents about a 'heightmaxxing' trend where teenagers take erdafitinib—often called 'ERDA' or 'Erta'—in an effort to grow taller, purchasing the cancer drug online.
- Rumors that the drug boosts height stem from a 2024 study in Hormone Research in Paediatrics suggesting erdafitinib could block FGFR3, though scientists have disputed this research.
- One 17-year-old named Zak spent $300 for a month's supply and reported severe joint pain and nosebleeds; another, James, described yellowing fingernails with pus oozing out.
- New York City-based physician Stephanie Widmer warned, "No amount of additional height is worth risking permanent damage to your vision," while Johnson emphasized the drug has never been approved for pediatric use.
- Adalbert Raimann, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Medical University of Vienna, warned, "So we have no idea, not in adults and especially not in kids in this developing system, what we are doing in five to 10 years.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Introducing 'Heightmaxxing,' the Dangerous Trend That Has Teens Experimenting With Cancer Drugs
Millennial boys tried hanging from monkey bars and drinking gallons of milk to get taller. Some teenage boys today have graduated to taking bladder cancer medication. We’re doing great. It’s called “heightmaxxing,” the latest obsession to come out of the looksmaxxing community, where young men spend an alarming amount of time worrying about their faces […]
According to a report in Rolling Stone magazine, some teenagers are even resorting to drugs in the hope of growing taller. A trend has taken hold on social media that has attached the suffix “maxxing” to almost every aspect of life. Young people exchange advice on how to improve themselves and get closer to what they consider to be the ideal version of their appearance. The most widespread version is called “looksmaxxing.” There, young men shar…
How 'Heightmaxxing' Is Pushing Teen Boys to Take a Risky Cancer Drug
You’ve likely heard of looksmaxxing, the online movement of young men doing whatever they can to maximize their appearance. You may have also heard of “maxxing” in general, recently chosen as Dictionary.com’s word of the year but most often used as a suffix, as in “proteinmaxxing” or “mallmaxxing.” Or, according to a worrisome new report, […]
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