Clipping Board » Drug Poisoning ─ It is necessary to be aware of the toxic side effects before taking medication.
CNA / CNA 2006-11-29
(CNA Reporter Chen Qingfang, Taipei, November 29)
Taipei Veterans General Hospital has reported that 2% of poisoning cases are caused by Chinese herbal medicine. A 14-year-old boy suffered from mercury poisoning due to ingesting Chinese medicine containing cinnabar. Another elderly man developed lead poisoning from using medicated plasters. The hospital found that not only are some banned Chinese medicines still circulating in the market, but medicated plasters are also poorly regulated.
The family of the 14-year-old boy, believing they were knowledgeable about Chinese medicine, self-prescribed herbs to boost his energy and strengthen his body. After six months, he exhibited abnormal muscle tremors and difficulty in movement, with MRI images resembling Parkinson's disease. His medication was found to contain 17,309 ppm of mercury and 8 ppm of lead.
A 75-year-old man with leg ulcers used red medicated plasters sprinkled with white powder for three months, leading to headaches, dizziness, stomach pain, constipation, abnormal liver function, and limb weakness. Tests revealed lead poisoning, with the toxicology department finding 516,898 ppm of lead in the plasters he used.
In 2004, the Department of Health announced that seven Chinese medicinal materials, including Eucommia bark, loquat leaf, cinnamon, cassia twig, cassia bark, bletilla tuber, and acanthopanax bark, should contain no more than 2 ppm of mercury and 30 ppm of lead. The levels of mercury and lead in the medicines used by the boy and the old man exceeded the standards by over 8,000 times and 17,000 times, respectively.
Dr. Wu Mingling, a clinical toxicologist at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, noted that the Department of Health banned cinnabar last year, requiring sedative Chinese medicines containing cinnabar to use substitutes. However, recent cases of heavy metal poisoning from Chinese medicines suggest that cinnabar-containing medicines may still be circulating in the market, or the quality of Chinese medicinal materials may be unstable, with sources contaminated by heavy metals.
Dr. Wu pointed out that the Department of Health considered setting overly strict standards for harmful substances, which would make it difficult for Chinese medicine suppliers to source materials. Therefore, the standards for cadmium, mercury, and lead were set at 2, 2, and 30 ppm, respectively, with the total heavy metal content not exceeding 100 ppm. However, considering environmental pollution and increased exposure time due to longer lifespans, the Poison and Drug Consultation Center recommends limits that are only one-sixth to one-tenth of the official standards.
Additionally, Dr. Wu believes that while over-the-counter Chinese medicinal plasters are relatively well-regulated, self-made plasters from Chinese medicine shops, martial arts clinics, and herbal stores are poorly managed, becoming a blind spot for heavy metal pollution control.
Heavy Metal Contamination in Traditional Chinese Medicine Persists, Plasters Remain Regulatory Blind Spot
(CNA Reporter Chen Qingfang, Taipei, November 29)
Taipei Veterans General Hospital has reported that 2% of poisoning cases are caused by Chinese herbal medicine. A 14-year-old boy suffered from mercury poisoning due to ingesting Chinese medicine containing cinnabar. Another elderly man developed lead poisoning from using medicated plasters. The hospital found that not only are some banned Chinese medicines still circulating in the market, but medicated plasters are also poorly regulated.
The family of the 14-year-old boy, believing they were knowledgeable about Chinese medicine, self-prescribed herbs to boost his energy and strengthen his body. After six months, he exhibited abnormal muscle tremors and difficulty in movement, with MRI images resembling Parkinson's disease. His medication was found to contain 17,309 ppm of mercury and 8 ppm of lead.
A 75-year-old man with leg ulcers used red medicated plasters sprinkled with white powder for three months, leading to headaches, dizziness, stomach pain, constipation, abnormal liver function, and limb weakness. Tests revealed lead poisoning, with the toxicology department finding 516,898 ppm of lead in the plasters he used.
In 2004, the Department of Health announced that seven Chinese medicinal materials, including Eucommia bark, loquat leaf, cinnamon, cassia twig, cassia bark, bletilla tuber, and acanthopanax bark, should contain no more than 2 ppm of mercury and 30 ppm of lead. The levels of mercury and lead in the medicines used by the boy and the old man exceeded the standards by over 8,000 times and 17,000 times, respectively.
Dr. Wu Mingling, a clinical toxicologist at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, noted that the Department of Health banned cinnabar last year, requiring sedative Chinese medicines containing cinnabar to use substitutes. However, recent cases of heavy metal poisoning from Chinese medicines suggest that cinnabar-containing medicines may still be circulating in the market, or the quality of Chinese medicinal materials may be unstable, with sources contaminated by heavy metals.
Dr. Wu pointed out that the Department of Health considered setting overly strict standards for harmful substances, which would make it difficult for Chinese medicine suppliers to source materials. Therefore, the standards for cadmium, mercury, and lead were set at 2, 2, and 30 ppm, respectively, with the total heavy metal content not exceeding 100 ppm. However, considering environmental pollution and increased exposure time due to longer lifespans, the Poison and Drug Consultation Center recommends limits that are only one-sixth to one-tenth of the official standards.
Additionally, Dr. Wu believes that while over-the-counter Chinese medicinal plasters are relatively well-regulated, self-made plasters from Chinese medicine shops, martial arts clinics, and herbal stores are poorly managed, becoming a blind spot for heavy metal pollution control.