Healthy hairiness or hormones? Mumsnet wisdom needed.

[ilovehugs]

DD (4.5) is hairy like me. She has continence problems and so she gets help with her personal care. I noticed about 6 months ago that one or two of the downy hairs in her pubic area are quite long (about 2cm) and a bit pigmented. Still very soft and downy and not really that obvious. I noticed the other day that she has another one, possibly two like this (may have always been there. Not sure really). The aren't proper pubic hairs though.
I really dont want to take her to the GP because it wont be nice for her and it will make her aware and possibly worried about something which she is totally oblivious of. She has had more than enough attention in that area from Drs because of surgery that had as a baby. Also, I think I suffer from a bit of health anxiety, especially where she's concerned. I have a policy where I only take her to the Drs if it is really, really necessary. At the same time, if there is something wrong with her development then it needs looking at.
So the question is....would you take your otherwise healthy and normal (developmental wise) 5 year old to the GP with a few long, bit pigmented hairs like I described or just keep an eye on it for a bit longer. My instinct is to just keep an eye on it. But I would love to hear some Mumsnet opinions. What would you do?

It may be relevant that I am yet to meet another woman as hairy as me!!!

Could you discuss it with your GP without her present and see if they feel they would like to see her? We can phone and ask to speak to one of the doctors at our practice and they will phone back when they get a break. They then tell you whether they need to see or not.

I could do that Mon when she is at nursery DeWe. Still a bit worried that they will get me to bring her in to have a look though. But I could just be very clear that I want to avoid that.

Spent some time googling it now. Just can't work out if it's normal or not :( :( :(

Hi ilovehugs. My dd is 12 now but has always been hairy. She was born with a thick head of dark hair. Nothing unusual. Also dark hair on shoulders and ears. This eventually fell off - was told it was hormonal. But dd was also born with a large tummy (looked like she had a football under skin) and boobs. Was told also hormones. She was 6lb 2oz at birth and on day to leave hospital was up to 6lb 5oz. Was told this very unusual. Since then dd put weight on very easily and has always been overweight. This is where the hairiness comes in. Dd has had very thick black hair in pubic area since about 6. More than a woman would have. Also in armpits and legs. Also moustache. Normal hairy parts (arms etc) thick though. Dd also had bad acne from 6.Was told it was teenage spots! Sorry to waffle on but is this the same for your dd yet? Not trying to scare or upset you. You might want to keep an eye on it. Dd never saw a sympathetic doctor at all until she was about 9 and then only gave her spot stuff. I asked for tests etc and was fobbed off. Doctors assumed dd was a greedy child - she is not - when i said about weight. Wish i had pushed it all as now dd is 12 she won't see a doctor about it as she is such a quiet person. Best wishes.

Thanks Ibizagirl. I've decided to keep an eye on it but I will take her to the Dr if it gets any more obvious. Your post has made me think about just hairy I was a a child and so was my mum. I am hairier than her though due to my dad who is quite possibly the hairiest man I have ever known!!! This is why I think I can going to watch and weight. DD did also put on weight and not loose weight after birth interestingly. She also had breastbuds after the birth which we were told was hormonal - but they went away as we were told that they wood. I had a little, subtle check of hairy armpits and there are little blonde ones there 'in place' but tiny and barely visible.
Your post has reminded me about being hairy as a child. It did really, really bother me. I can remember that my legs were covered in long, thick, dark hairs and it made me embarrassed because they were so vastly different to the others. I started my periods by 14, but I'm sure that I had a tonne of pubic hair by then. I worried about it as a teen but learned to deal with it. If it reassures you at all. I took my self to the Drs one day determined there was something wrong with me and had a blood test. Normal everything. As a 31 year old women I am totally 'at peace' with my hairiness now. As a result I don't care about my DD's hairiness. I only care if it hormones or something wrong. I'm hoping that with her 'hairy heritage' its not. Def not taking her unless it gets worse though. Hope your DD is OK. If she's otherwise healthy at 12, that's a good sign. If your worried, maybe you could find a really nice GP which she would feel more comfortable seeing.

Oooops so many mistakes in that. Sorry! Sign I need to go to bed!!!

Sorry to hear about your own experience when young, ilovehugs. In that case, your dd is probably just following the family as it were. If dd decides to go to gp then i will post and let you know. I am not sure she will though. I mentioned it yesterday and she said "what for?" so maybe not. I did forget to mention that when dd was young she had terrible BO when she started to get spots. Tried every anti perspirant and roll on going. It was awful. Best one i found was Vaseline make and thats the one she has been using for a few years! Can still come home at end of school with stinking blazer so have to wash some stuff in HALO for sports kit! Never mind. Could be worse i suppose. She is such a good clever girl and i do feel sorry for her sometimes. Oh well. Best wishes.

Ibizagirl. Have you ruled out PCOS? The fact that it all started so young may make it very unlikely but symptoms include weight gain, acne and excessive hair growth. Have a look on the NHS website here There have been cases diagnosed in younger children but it is unusual. Maybe worth a look?