Consequences of using herbal medicine of unknown origin
Doctor Doan Duy Thanh - Intensive Care Department, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases - spoke out about the situation of too many patients being hospitalized due to self-medication of unknown origin: The hospital regularly receives cases of hepatitis B and C in serious condition, due to patients not receiving proper treatment and self-medication of unknown origin. When hospitalized, their livers are often severely damaged, unable to metabolize toxins in the body, leading to dangerous complications such as central nervous system depression, causing coma, screaming, or unconsciousness.
Dr. Thanh said he was treating a 44-year-old male patient from Ha Giang. This was a very serious case. The patient was hospitalized in critical condition due to end-stage cirrhosis on the basis of hepatitis C and gout. Relatives said the patient had a habit of drinking alcohol regularly.
Over the years, the patient had visited many traditional healers to get medicine to treat gout and other health problems. After experiencing problems with gastric bleeding, the patient continued to use traditional Chinese medicine to treat his stomach. In particular, when cirrhosis was discovered, the patient switched to using drugs of unknown origin to treat his liver. However, these drugs made his condition worse.
Upon admission to the Intensive Care Unit of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the patient was in a very critical condition, with symptoms of jaundice, yellow eyes, abdominal distension and unconsciousness. The initial diagnosis showed that the patient had acute liver failure on the basis of cirrhosis and hepatitis C.
"This is just one of many cases of patients suffering from liver poisoning due to using drugs of unknown origin. Recently, the hospital has received and treated a number of cases of severe acute toxic hepatitis related to the use of drugs of unknown origin," said Dr. Doan Duy Thanh.
Or like the case of a 66-year-old female patient in Bac Ninh, the patient had a habit of self-treating by taking medicine whenever she felt tired. About 2 months before being hospitalized, the patient began to cut up oriental medicine of unknown origin to take at very high doses: 50 pills each time, twice a day, for 20 consecutive days.
After using the drug, the patient's health condition gradually declined, with obvious symptoms such as fatigue, jaundice, yellow eyes and dark urine.
Despite receiving care and treatment for 3 weeks at 2 frontline medical facilities, the patient's condition continued to worsen. Test results showed that the patient was poisoned by traditional medicine, causing acute toxic hepatitis.
Many warnings, but the number of hospitalizations does not decrease
Dr. Doan Duy Thanh added that despite many warnings about the harmful effects of using drugs of unknown origin on health, the number of hospitalizations has not decreased. Patients need to be alert and talk to their doctors for advice and appropriate recommendations, and avoid using products of unknown origin that are not licensed by the Ministry of Health.
For people, especially patients with liver disease, it is necessary to proactively go to reputable medical facilities for diagnosis and treatment. Self-treatment or use of drugs of unknown origin can cause serious consequences, even life-threatening.
Patients should absolutely not use drugs of unknown origin, advertised widely on the internet, and if they want to be treated with oriental medicine, they should go to reputable facilities for advice and treatment. Avoiding drug and alcohol abuse, and following the doctor's instructions is the best way to protect the health of the liver and the entire body.
