Nguyen Thi My Hien from HCMC shows the remaining powder sachets of a banned traditional medicine originating from Cambodia that are thought to have killed her brother-in-law recently

A Ho Chi Minh City resident who had been taking a banned traditional medicine originating from Cambodia recently died two days after being admitted to the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

The most recent victim was hospitalized with a fever, muscle contractions and severe low blood pressure. Doctors said he suffered a blood infection.

Sister-in-law Nguyen Thi My Hien of the deceased patient, T.V.T., said he had been using the medicine for nearly a year to treat his stomachache and coughs.

He had bought the medicine at the price of VND7,000 (40 cents) per package of 10 sachets, she added.

Subsequent tests by the HCMC Health Department confirmed the medicine used by the patient to be the banned drug.

Hien said many individuals from her hometown in Dong Thap Province used the banned medicine because of its cheap price and immediate effects within just a few days.

However, she said some of their illnesses lingered or even grew worse after an extended period of using the drug.

Health hazard

In August, a test conducted by the Health Ministry to verify the contents of the drug found it to contain dangerous medicinal substances, including Diazepam, Dexamethasone and Cyproheptadin.

Professor Nguyen Hoai Nam from the HCMC University of Pharmacy and Medicine said the use of such drugs should only be prescribed and monitored by doctors.

“The identified substances [in the tested drug] have dangerous side effects,” he said. “Diazepam acts as a tranquilizer but it may be harmful if the patient were suffering from asthenia, while Dexamethasone is used to treat inflammatory conditions and numb pain but it affects blood pressure, the heart and stomach, and weakens bones.”

Vietnam’s Medicine Administration Department has issued warnings against the banned Cambodian drug, which had been retailed illegally in 20 cities and provinces nationwide.

The medicine may temporarily help to alleviate pain, fever, tension and inflammation, but in the process also mask the true symptoms of the disease.

It may aid patients to have sound sleep and a good appetite in the first few days of use, but potential side effects can be lethal – including causing addictive conditions and severe diseases in the kidney, liver, and digestive and endocrine systems, the department warned.

Reported by Nhu Lich