login
Become a member
Quick Registration
Full Registration Benefits -
Free Homepages for Doctors
Free Homepages for Hospitals
Free Homepages for Medical Conference
Free Homepages for NGO's
Personal Health Record Creation
Access to all Medical Slides
Access to all Jobs & Products Sale
Doctors Sound Warning About Skin-lightening Creams
February 16, 2008 at 3:42 PM
General Health News
The woman was extremely obese, had thin, bruised, stripy skin and suffered from muscle weakness. She had been trying unsuccessfully to conceive for the previous 18 months even though she had regular periods.
Physicians initially believed she had a disorder called Cushing's syndrome, caused by the adrenal or pituitary glands. But blood tests turned up no sign of excess levels of two hormones that are the usual telltales of this syndrome.
After further inquiries, the patient admitted she had been using a skin-lightening cream for seven years, bought not from a pharmacist but from a local shop that was unauthorised to sell it.
The cream contained the steroid clobetasol, a powerful corticosteroid usually used against psoriasis and eczema. The woman had been using two tubes of it, amounting to about 60 grammes (three ounces), a week.
Reporting the case study in next Saturday's British Medical Journal (BMJ), the doctors at London's Hammersmith Hospital urge physicians to be aware of the risk of illegal skin whiteners.
"The market is worth millions of pounds (euros, dollars) a year, in the UK alone. Creams can contain toxic substances, such as steroids and hydroxyquinone -- and patients are typically unaware of the risks," they say.
Skin lightening is used in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East where a fairer skin is associated with attractiveness. Campaigners against whitening say the practise reinforces discrimination and ancient stereotypes.
Source-AFP
KAV/K
|
|
 Comment & Contribute
|
Medwonders Health Network
- Health News Index
|
|
 | Quiz on Skin How much do you know about the human skin? Please take this quiz and find out. 
|
- News Quick Links
| News Categories: |
| » | Olympic Athlete's Body Via the 80-10-10 Raw Vegan Diet |
| » | Importance of Canned Foods To Help Tackle IOM Weight Of The Nation Recommendations, Highlights Study |
| » | US Rules Pomegranate Juice Claims Deceptive |
| » | Reducing Entrée Size Could Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Children |
| » | Dieters Should Eat 300 Calories Less to Avoid Regaining Lost Weight After Dieting |
| More Diet News | |
|
