A woman almost died from injecting skin whitening substance of unknown origin

On July 5, E Hospital informed that doctors from the Department of Allergy, Immunology and Dermatology (E Hospital) received and treated a female patient (46 years old, Hanoi) who suffered anaphylactic shock and nearly died from injection of a skin whitening substance of unknown origin.

The patient said he used a skin whitening treatment using plant stem cells with unknown ingredients at a spa in Hanoi.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Lan, Department of Allergy, Immunology and Dermatology, said that the patient was admitted to the hospital with convulsions, difficulty breathing, agitation, severe hypotension causing circulatory collapse and a high risk of death. Immediately upon admission, the doctors ordered the patient to undergo the necessary tests.

Test results showed that liver enzymes were 4-5 times higher than normal, the suspected cause could be due to the side effects of this whitening agent, causing the patient to have a risk of liver failure... Immediately, doctors treated the patient according to the emergency protocol for anaphylactic shock, which if not treated promptly can cause death within minutes.

According to Dr. Lan, this is a very dangerous case. When the patient was taken to the emergency room at the hospital, he was already showing signs of anaphylactic shock at a critical level, with a high risk of death. Fortunately, the patient was taken to the hospital during the “golden hour” and was given emergency treatment according to the anaphylactic shock treatment protocol and has overcome the critical stage.

Doctor Nguyen Thi Thu Lan added that anaphylactic shock is a dangerous acute allergic reaction that occurs after a few seconds to a few minutes of exposure to an allergen. Depending on each person's sensitivity, the body will react to certain allergens. Anaphylactic shock causes negative effects on the entire body such as the immune system, respiratory system, skin, circulatory system, digestive system, central nervous system, so the symptoms are also distributed throughout the body, commonly with symptoms such as itchy skin, swollen lips, sneezing, watery eyes, vomiting, diarrhea...

Through medical history, the patient was allergic to house dust mites and certain foods such as shrimp, crab, fish, potatoes, egg whites, etc. However, he chose to have a beauty treatment with a whitening agent of unknown origin and ingredients at a spa in Hanoi, putting him at risk of death from anaphylactic shock.

According to the patient's family, the patient was advised to use the skin whitening service using plant stem cells at a spa in Hanoi with a course of 10 sessions and a total cost of nearly 50,000,000 VND. The patient used the service for 6 sessions, but no unusual symptoms appeared. On the 7th session, 30 minutes after receiving the whitening agent, the patient began to experience symptoms such as sudden difficulty breathing, convulsions, and coma. Fearing that the patient might die at the spa, the staff contacted the 115 Emergency Center and the patient was taken to the E Hospital for emergency treatment.

Fortunately for the patient, the staff of the 115 Emergency Center performed initial first aid to ensure stable breathing and circulation before transporting the patient to the hospital to take advantage of the golden time to provide emergency care for the patient.

Doctor Lan further explained that anaphylactic shock first aid should be performed as soon as possible, this is considered a medical emergency. Therefore, the time to save a person is calculated in seconds, otherwise dangerous complications, even death can occur due to acute respiratory failure and hypotension. In particular, beauty and whitening substances of unknown origin that are introduced into the body through the vein can cause dangerous reactions. Therefore, patients need to be careful with any skin whitening injection method advertised on the market, floating skin whitening substances, unknown origin, poor quality... especially for those with a history of allergies like this patient.

Doctor Nguyen Thi Thu Lan recommends that when falling into anaphylactic shock, the patient must be quickly taken to the nearest medical facility for emergency treatment, avoiding uncontrolled complications that threaten the patient's life. In particular, after the patient has been treated for anaphylactic shock and received timely treatment, it can still recur after the next 8-72 hours. Therefore, the patient needs to be closely monitored with modern equipment and experienced experts to monitor and screen for complications that are dangerous to the patient.