Traditional Chinese Medicine Breast Be Careful
BEJING - China has banned the use of Ao Mei Ding, a liquid used for breast enlargement. The injectable colloid was used on approximately 300,000 women, reported The China Daily.
For all of those who prefer “natural” and “herbal” remedies in lieu of Western, or dare we say, modern medicine, this is a fine example of the danger in using un-tested treatments. It constantly amazes us that while GNC and The Vitamin Shoppe flourish, one would be hardpressed to find a product that they sell with confirmed, statistically-significant benefit. But their products fly off the shelves without any formalized testing performed. We know it sounds mypoic, but we enjoy publishing articles showing the dangers of homeopathy because it reminds readers that all forms of medical therapy should undergo testing prior to use, recognizing the possibility that even despite thorough review, some remedies may prove to be harmful in the long run but at least the effort is made in Western medicine.
Manufactured by Fu Hua Pharmaceuticals, the bosom bloater has been used in small hospitals and beauty salons across the country.
“It continuously caused negative effects and consumer complaints, and the administration’s monitoring center believes its safety cannot be guaranteed,” the State Food and Drug Administration on its website.Hundreds of women who received the injections wrote to the national drug agency in November to complain, the China Daily said.
A report in January by the agency listed 183 cases of side effects, the China Daily said. Women quoted by the newspaper reported suffering from extreme chronic pain, and it said some had their breasts removed.
“Major hospitals would never use Ao Mei Ding. It is the smaller hospitals and beauty salons that use it to gain big profits,” Zhang Yiming, director of plastic surgery at Wuhan Union Hospital in central China, was quoted as saying.
This is not the first time traditional Chinese medications have resulted in significant patient morbidity and mortality. In fact,
Earlier this week, state media said 5 people died after they received a drug for gallbladder inflammation that contained a counterfeit ingredient resulting in kidney failure.
Six patients also were hospitalized after receiving the gallbladder drug, Armillarisni A, which contained diglycol, a chemical that can cause kidney failure but that a vendor passed off as a normal ingredient and that quality inspectors failed to detect, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The drug company, Qiqihar No. 2 Pharmaceutical Co.Ltd. in China’s northeast, has been shut down and seven people, including the vendor, have been detained, Xinhua said.
