A skin cream from Mexico has left a CA woman in a coma. It turned out to contain mercury.

[pnwmom]

https://beta.washingtonpost.com/health/2019/09/11/woman-has-been-coma-weeks-after-using-mercury-tainted-skin-cream/

A Sacramento woman went to the emergency room in July with numbness in her hands and feet, slurred speech and trouble walking. The 47-year-old mother of five wasn’t having a stroke or heart attack. She was suffering from mercury poisoning from a tainted anti-wrinkle cream imported from Mexico, KCRA-TV reported.

SNIP

The WHO and the Pan American Health Organization reported in 2017 that mercury was used in skin-lightening products for its ability to suppress melanin, resulting in fading hyperpigmentation, acne scars and overall skin tone. The FDA stated in 2016 that mercury-containing products were also sold as anti-wrinkle creams, and warned that cosmetic exposure could cause mercury vapor inhalation and mercury contamination through skin-to-skin contact. The agency also cautioned against skin care products manufactured abroad that are then sold, often illegally, in places that cater to Latino, Asian, African and Middle Eastern communities.

The woman’s son told CBS Sacramento that his mother knowingly used the altered product from Mexico twice a day for years because it worked better than the creams sold in drugstores. The woman purchased the cream from someone she knew, according to CBS Sacramento.

SNIP

There have been more than 60 poisonings linked to foreign-branded, unlabeled or homemade skin creams tainted with a less-toxic form of mercury, according to a Sacramento County Department of Health Services statement. The department published a list of products that have tested positive for mercury on its website.

[greyl]

1. Let's ban skin cream. nt