In January, Rushikesh Dhore visited a doctor in Maharashtra’s Akola district with a range of problems – insomnia, irritability, twitching and pain in his leg muscles.
But most striking for the 25-year-old was a feeling of “tremors” running through his legs.
The doctor was perplexed and advised Dhore, a resident of Goregaon village in Murtijapur, to visit a neurologist in Akola city, 50 km away.
Neurologist Dr Nitin Virwani immediately knew what the problem was. He had treated similar patients a few weeks before Dhore showed up.
As he had suspected, Dhore had recently started using a skin brightening cream he bought from a store in his village. “Within days of using the cream, I couldn’t sleep at night. Because I was awake all night, I became irritable. Then a burning sensation began in my legs,” he said.
Like him, a 30-year-old woman in Akola had started using a fairness cream on a friend’s recommendation in April. In the initial days, she felt her skin “considerably brighten and blemishes lighten”. “I even told a few other friends to use it. It is easily available in grocery stores,” she said, requesting anonymity.
In a few weeks, however, her face became dry and itchy. Then, a constant tingling sensation began in her feet.
When Virwani asked...
from Scroll.in https://scroll.in/article/1095044/how-adulterated-fairness-creams-led-to-a-surge-of-mercury-poisoning-cases-in-rural-maharashtra?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public https://sc0.blr1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/article/215054-yrzfhmwplc-1786713130.jpeg
via
0 Comments