Around 20 children who were given hair restorer instead of medicine to treat an upset tummy have started growing large hairs all over their bodies.
These pictures show the hair-covered skin of the young children, who live in the city of Torrelavega in the northern Spanish region of Cantabria.
Local officials admitted that a group of children were mistakenly given minoxidil, a medication for hair growth, instead of omeprazole - a treatment for gastric reflux.
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Two years after the medical blunder, some of those affected are still growing hairs all over their bodies.
The children's furious parents went public with the bizarre development, and it was later confirmed that 20 children had been affected in Andalusia and the Valencian Community - prompting a similar probe on the suspicion the same mistake may have been made there.
According to data from the Ministry of Health, authorities discovered at the end of July last year that the mistake had been noticed when a group of families, represented by lawyer Javier Diaz Aparicio, filed a complaint.
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The families have filed civil and criminal complaints against a laboratory and several companies for importing and distributing the drug for manufacturing, distributing and selling, as well as against two pharmacies in Cantabria which were later exculpated by the judge.
The affected minors who had taken minoxidil developed hypertrichosis, the appearance of excess hair on the body.
The families of some children have complained that despite treatment, the hair keeps growing and they demand compensation.
Back in 2019 the parents were said to be 'surprised by the appearance of hair in the babies, especially in the facial area,' so took their little ones off to the doctors to find out what was wrong.
The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products has now removed several batches of the medication from circulation as it tries to get to the bottom of the issue.
The batch of meds - from Farma-Química Sur and with lot number 11072/10/42 - is now said to have been mostly recalled, with the last few missing packets currently being tracked down.
The drugs are reported to be made in India and shipped into the country. They are thought to have been sold in a total of 22 pharmacies in the Granada region.
Featured Image Credit: Newsflash
Topics: World News, News, Spain, Weird