2 persons turn ill in S’pore after taking adulterated health products
Two people in Singapore have suffered serious adverse reactions after consuming adulterated health products thought to relieve pain and gout, the Health Sciences Authority said Tuesday.
A Chinese woman in her late 30s and a Chinese man in his late 60s suffered Cushing’s syndrome after consuming Ginseng Baji Gu Ci Wan and Tu Chong Ginseng Wan Le Seang, respectively, HSA said in a statement.
The syndrome is characterised by upper body obesity with thin limbs and results when the body is exposed to high levels of steroid hormones.
Both health scares were detected separately by a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) physician and a doctor who subsequently reported the cases to the HSA, the agency said.
A third case surfaced after a patient in her 50s experienced rapid relief from migraine symptoms after consuming X-Tract Nature. The doctor became suspicious after observing the unexpectedly rapid therapeutic effect of the medication and consequently reported the case to HSA.
Not approved by HSA, all three products were sold under the guise of herbal or traditional medicines, and were obtained overseas.
Tests done at the government agency’s laboratory revealed that all three sets of capsules contained undeclared medicinal ingredients including prednisone, phenylbutazone, chlorpheniramine and paracetamol.
The presence of potent steroids in all three of the tainted products can potentially cause serious health defects such as high blood pressure as well as muscular and bone disorders, HSA warned.
Those who have consumed the products are advised to consult a medical practitioner and stop consumption immediately
"Often, these products contain potent medicinal ingredients that are not listed on the packaging. This is very dangerous for consumers who take these products. It is almost impossible for the consumer to tell from the packaging whether a product is adulterated or not and the best practice is to avoid buying and consuming these products,” Chan Cheng Leng, deputy group director for HSA's Health Products Regulation Group said.
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