Products found to contain undeclared medicines
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| The United Kingdom: Herbal skin cream found to contain steroids: Zudaifu cream contain clobetasol propionate |
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The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announces that it has been working to prevent the further sale of Zudaifu cream and advises anyone who has bought it online to stop using it immediately.
Zudaifu cream is not a licensed medicine and has been marketed in the United Kingdom as a “natural” Chinese herbal remedy for the treatment of a range of skin conditions, most commonly eczema, psoriasis and rosacea.
MHRA’s analysis of the product found the presence of the steroid clobetasol propionate. This is the active ingredient in Prescription-Only medicines used for the treatment of a range skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema.
Creams containing steroids should be used sparingly and as directed by the prescriber. They should not be used on children under 1 year of age.
This follows a warning issued by the MHRA earlier this year for a product called [Yiganerjing Cream] (http://www.gov.uk/government/news/natural-doesnt-mean-safe-herbal-medicines-found-to-contain-steroids ) described as a “natural” Chinese herbal medicine that contained the same steroid and antifungal ingredients.
Steroids must only be prescribed by healthcare professionals who follow strict criteria when prescribing them and can monitor patients using them. They can suppress the skin’s response to infection and can also cause long-term thinning of the skin. If steroids are applied long term, particularly on children, they can lead to other medical problems.
Please refer to the following website in MHRA for details:
http://www.gov.uk/government/news/herbal-skin-cream-found-to-contain-steroids
In Hong Kong, the above products are not registered pharmaceutical products. The news on Yiganerjing Cream was previously issued by MHRA, and was posted on the Drug Office website on 1 Mar 2018.
Ends/Thursday, December 20, 2018
Issued at HKT 12:30
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