Children with adrenal insufficiency due to self-medication with oriental medicine to gain weight

A boy suffered from adrenal insufficiency because his parents arbitrarily used a medicine introduced as "traditional oriental medicine to help gain weight".

Children with adrenal insufficiency due to self-medication with "traditional medicine for weight gain"

A boy suffered from adrenal insufficiency because his parents arbitrarily used a medicine introduced as "traditional oriental medicine to help gain weight".

With unusual signs on the body, baby H.D.H. (5 years and 6 months old, Hanoi ) was taken to Medlatec Tay Ho General Clinic for examination and discovered adrenal insufficiency. Worryingly, the cause was determined to be from the parents arbitrarily giving the child medicine introduced as oriental medicine, supporting weight gain.

People need to be very careful with products labeled as oriental medicine with the effect of gaining weight, treating anorexia, quickly reducing symptoms of sore throat, cough, dermatitis, pain relief, joint swelling... because they can be mixed with corticosteroids.

Baby H.D.H. has had a poor appetite and slow weight gain since childhood. Although many methods have been applied, they have not been effective. Introduced by friends, H.'s mother bought traditional oriental medicine herself with the hope of helping her child gain weight.

After using it continuously for 3 months, baby H. gained about 0.5kg. However, in the past month, her whole body has been experiencing abnormal hair growth, especially on her face, shoulders, arms, back and legs. In addition, her skin is also darker and her face is rounder.

Seeing unusual signs in their child, the family took him to Medlatec Tay Ho General Clinic for examination.

Here, after taking a medical history and performing a clinical examination, the doctor will prescribe the necessary paraclinical techniques to serve the diagnosis.

In particular, the result of measuring cortisol (adrenal hormone) in the child's blood at 9am was low: 56.9 nmol/L (normal level: 140 - 700 nmol/L). The doctor diagnosed that H. had drug-induced adrenal insufficiency, prescribed outpatient treatment and scheduled a follow-up appointment.

Stemming from the mentality of many parents that "raising fat children is healthy", many "miracle drugs" labeled as Eastern medicine with the name "rapid weight gain" are widely sold on the Internet.

It is worth mentioning that most of these "brands" are labeled "Traditional Oriental Medicine", so many parents do not research carefully and always think that Oriental medicine is harmless, taking it will either help them horizontally or vertically without foreseeing the serious consequences that will follow.

Directly examining and treating H.'s case, Master, Doctor Ngo Thi Cam, Pediatrics specialist, Tay Ho General Clinic, said that cortisol is a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands, which has the effect of regulating sugar metabolism in the body and fighting stress.

Corticoid is a strong anti-inflammatory substance, often found in many types of medicine to treat diseases in specialized fields, such as ear, nose and throat drops and sprays; topical medications in dermatology; oral anti-inflammatory drugs for many diseases and drugs of unknown origin with advertisements to help children eat well and gain weight.

Using high doses of corticosteroids for a long time without a doctor's prescription can cause side effects on many different organ systems such as edema, high blood pressure; diabetes, dyslipidemia; increased risk of skin infections, thinning skin, stretch marks, easy bruising, acne;

Moon-shaped face, central obesity, buffalo hump, atrophied limbs, muscle atrophy, osteoporosis, slow growth in children; gastric and duodenal ulcers;

Immunodeficiency leading to opportunistic infections, reduced effectiveness and increased risk of vaccines, appetite loss, mood disorders, depression; cataracts, glaucoma;

Stopping suddenly can cause acute adrenal insufficiency, a medical emergency that can be fatal if not treated promptly.

In our country, a large number of people, including parents, often have the habit of buying medicine at the pharmacy to treat themselves at home and do not follow specific instructions from doctors. Therefore, the rate of hospitalization due to complications due to the use of corticosteroids is quite high.

Doctor Cam recommends that people should be very careful with products labeled as oriental medicine with the effect of gaining weight, treating anorexia, quickly reducing symptoms of sore throat, cough, dermatitis, pain relief, joint swelling... because they can be mixed with corticosteroids.

Parents should not arbitrarily use drugs containing this ingredient for children, only use when prescribed by a doctor and have regular check-ups to monitor side effects of the drug.

"Monitoring includes measuring blood pressure, weight, height, child's growth rate, blood tests, and eye exams every 1-3 months," the doctor added.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/tre-bi-suy-tuyen-thuong-than-vi-tu-y-dung-thuoc-dong-y-tang-can-d229534.html