However, it is precisely because of this kind of thinking that Ms. Wu, a 32-year-old Hangzhou native, suffered greatly.
After months of taking imported health care products, his liver was damaged
"I have been like this for the past few days. I am not in good spirits, I have no energy, I don't want to eat, and sometimes I feel sick and want to vomit..." Upon entering the gastroenterology office of the Red Cross Hospital in Hangzhou, Ms. Wu asked the doctor, "Doctor, do I have gastrointestinal problems?"
After listening to Ms. Wu's narration, Liu Zuohui, deputy chief physician of the gastroenterology department, arranged a relevant examination for her. The examination results were surprising: in the column of serum liver function, alanine aminotransferase exceeded 1000 (more than 20 times the normal value); The total bilirubin also reached more than 100, more than 4 times the normal value... In other words, Ms Wu's liver is so damaged that if something is not done soon, her life could be at risk.
Therefore, Liu immediately arranged a hospital examination for Ms. Wu and further investigated the cause.
However, to Liu's surprise, after in-depth examination, Ms. Wu basically ruled out viral hepatitis, steatohepatitis, autoimmune liver disease and other common causes of liver damage. "Do you think you've been taking any special medication recently?" Faced with the doctor's question, Ms. Wu recalled carefully: "I was constipated before, and I was afraid that the 'toxin' in my body could not be expelled. So my husband bought foreign health products for me in the imported supermarket, and they must be genuine. I know that medicine can not be disorderly, but health care products to eat more should be okay?"
Liu hurriedly checked the ingredients of the drugs Ms. Wu was taking, and confirmed the conjecture according to the professional drug-induced liver injury scoring scale -- Ms. Wu was indeed caused by drug-induced liver damage from taking health care products. Fortunately, after half a month of medication, Ms. Wu recovered and left the hospital.
"Health care products" do not necessarily "health care" when the choice to be careful
Liu explained that drug-induced liver injury refers to liver injury induced by various chemical drugs, biological agents, traditional Chinese medicine, natural herbal medicine, health care products and dietary supplements, both prescription and over-the-counter.
"At present, the vast majority of health care products and dietary supplements on the market have not been developed according to drug standards, and their clinical safety and efficacy are not clear. In addition, as there are many ways to buy health products and dietary supplements, residents are also widely buying and taking them themselves." Liu said that at present, there are still many people lack of awareness of drug safety issues, there is a concept of "eating health care products even if the effect is not obvious, it is not harmful", and even follow the trend of taking health care products, leading to a high risk of drug-induced liver damage caused by the abuse of health care products and dietary supplements.
How to choose and take health care products? Liu offers advice:
1. To see clearly the health care products taking advice, to prevent excessive consumption, and it is best to take under the guidance of a doctor.
2. Excessive use of health supplements will increase the burden of the liver, it is recommended not to take multiple health supplements at the same time.
3. The incubation period of drug-induced liver damage may be as short as one or several days, or even as long as several months. Most patients have no obvious symptoms, and some patients have gastrointestinal symptoms such as fever, rash, fatigue, loss of appetite, joint pain or upper abdominal discomfort. Patients with obvious cholestasis may have yellowish skin, light stool color, and pruritus. Patients taking health care products for a long time should regularly test the function of the liver and kidney, once found above symptoms, must be sent to the doctor in time.
4. Do not blindly buy health care products with unknown ingredients online or abroad.