Miracle creams that promise to solve seven skin problems at once can be a waste of money at the very least or, in severe cases, can bring serious complications to those who use them. A dermatologist draws attention to what to watch out for.
Essential oils can pose risks if used directly on the skin PHOTO: Pixabay
The fashion for all kinds of supplements and miracle creams available until recently with a simple phone call, and today just a click away, not only has it not passed, but every day the table of those who can fall into the net of various scammers is expanding.
Dermatologist Ana Goanța drew attention, in a live intervention on the B1 TV station, that specialists meet more and more often patients in their offices who present complications – burns, allergies, irritations – following the use of various creams purchased from unreliable sources.
Such complications usually find a solution, but there are also products that affect the body much more deeply, such as the case of the creams incriminated by a patient who arrived at the hospital with allergies and a serious liver damage due to a cream that contained ammonia mercury chloride.
Doctor Ana Goanța stated that “mercury in microdoses can be used in the pharma industry, but this must be indicated on the label and the use of this product must be strictly under the direction of a doctor”. “As for mercury, arsenic, essential oils, they are primarily part of industrial chemistry and less of the skin care industry,” the doctor pointed out. The presence of elements of this type in creams can give adverse effects not only in the form of irritations and burns, which are treated in dermatology and theoretically leave no trace on health, but also can cause major disturbances of the immune and endocrine systems, the doctor drew attention.
The first warning sign: the promised “wow” effect
When using a product you are promised an extraordinary effect through the action of an active substance, we should, in fact, ask ourselves what is wrong.
“For example, the reduction of spots within 3 days – that’s the first alarm sign, or the reduction of acne, or those miracle creams that are ‘7 effects, one cream.’ At best these products will do nothing. In the worst case, as we see in the case of the respective patient, serious consequences can be reached”the doctor pointed out.
Another thing that could help us make the right choices, draws the attention of doctor Ana Goanța, is to analyze where the message is coming from.
“Pay close attention to who brings this message. Usually, professionals in the field, (…) or in the field of pharmacology, are not very vehement and very keen to sell something online. This is usually done by people who are neither authorized nor knowledgeable in the field”the doctor also specified.
How products are tested
If we have purchased a cream and have reservations about its quality and safety, but nevertheless want to use it, what we can do is test it on a small area.
“Theoretically, we should not buy that product. But let’s say that we have already purchased it and I will tell you how we recommend to patients, in the case of authorized products, bought in the pharmacy, on our recommendation. When there is a risk of hypersensitivity to a certain product, it is tested on the forearm, so on the area that is not exposed to the sun and is usually protected by clothes, especially in the cold period of the year. And it is tested on a one-centimeter portion”explained the doctor.
The danger of essential oils
Another very successful product on social media is essential oils. These oils should not be used on the skin, draws the attention of the dermatologist. The greatest danger is related, in the case of certain products in this category, to the lack of information on the content. “The danger with essential oils is that the label doesn’t list all the products in that blend, and then if the person has an allergic reaction – which is usually what happens with severe allergic reactions to essential oils – we can’t figure out what that person is allergic to so we can give them the right treatment.”the doctor also pointed out.
