Several people in Vietnam have found themselves victims of tonics after using such medicines on their own way.
A patient suffering from bad reaction to a tonic Bach Mai Hospital
Tonic misuses
Tran Nghia Thuc, 27, from Hanoi’s Thanh Tri District, took her child to the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) for checkups as the child suffered from anorexia, convulsion, vomiting and substandard growth.
She did not know what was the cause of he child’s situation until doctors found that the child was superfluous in Vitamins A and D as well as calcium.
Thuc admitted that around one year ago, she took her child to a nutritional doctor and got a prescription of some tonics. She has kept feeding her child with such medicines since then without being aware of the consequences.
Doctor Nguyen Bach Dang from Vietnam Military Medical University said that high prolonged doses of vitamin D and calcium may result in hypercalcaemia, which can cause fatigue, joint pain, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions and hypertension.
“Despite its importance to the health of the eyes, too much Vitamin A, especially among children, can also cause acute hepatitis,” Dang noted.
On the afternoon of May 15, Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi received Nguyen Thi Tinh, a 33-year-old woman from Phu Tho Province who was suffering from such adverse effects.
Tinh said that she decided to buy some traditional medicine from a medical practitioner in Yen Bai Province after suffering bone and joint pains. She started to feel dizzy and experienced itching all over her body and facial oedema one hour after taking the medicine. She was hospitalised.
Doctor Bui Van Khanh from Bach Mai Hospital said the facility has recently received several patients who were allergic to the drugs, traditional medicines, vitamin supplements and tonics they had been taking.
The most common symptoms were hives, itching, dermatitis, and oedema. However, he warned, in very bad cases, overdoses can be fatal.
Advice
Khanh said, “People should not think that tonics cannot cause harm. The fact that we have recently seen several children who've come for treatment for ingesting toxic substances that come from tonics should serve as a warning to parents. In some cases small children have died after taking traditional medicines contaminated with lead."
According to Dang, despite the benefits of vitamin supplements, they can also be very harmful if not used in the appropriate way.
Several medical experts said that various kinds of tonics are flooding the Vietnamese market to meet the rising demand. Tonics and supplements should be used with the guidance of a trained medical professional.
