Skin treatment medicines flooding Sri Lankan market as cosmetics have serious health hazards: NMRA,SLCD

• College of Dermatologists complain to NMRA of affected customers 

By Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana   
The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) have made a startling recovery that recent flooding of unregistered skin treatment medicines found in the local market as cosmetics could have serious health hazards.   The NMRA Food and Drugs Inspectors following several alerts of the Sri Lanka College of Dermatologists (SLCD)searched several leading cosmetic shops in Colombo yesterday to find an unregistered skin treatment medicine being sold by them.

A senior NMRA official told the Daily Mirror the cosmetic shop owners have said that they had purchased the goods from wholesale shops in the Pettah market.   
Following information, the officials had then raided two main wholesale dealers of cosmetic goods in Kathiresan Street and found over 470 such skin treatment medicines, which should be sold only with a prescription and not as a simple cosmetic.   
Preliminary investigations revealed that local vendors who travel to India on a routine basis are hand-carrying these unregistered medicines and have managed to enter into the country through the Customs channels.   

A couple of brands of such medicines had been seized that consisted of three medicinal components, one of which is a steroid. The chemical components as stated on the cover are Hydroquinone, Tretinoin and Mometasone Furoate cream. Medicines that are for dermatological purposes including steroids should strictly be used under doctor’s advice or it could have serious effects on skin, the official said.   
“These medicines lying on the shelves of the cosmetic stores in the city prompts the unsuspecting customers to buy them thinking of another skin whitening or cleansing product and apply, which could later bring serious complications on their complexion,” he said.   
“The College of Dermatologists have already received several complaints of complications about these products and we are continuing our investigations,” the official said.
When contacted President Sri Lanka College of Dermatologists (SLCD) Dr. Sriyani Samaraweera told the Daily Mirror that these medicines should strictly be used for a period of six weeks under a doctor’s advice and continuing to use them long could have cancerous effects.
“There is only one brand of such medicines registered in Sri Lanka at the moment and that too is permitted to be sold through pharmacies and not cosmetics or beauty product shops. The medicine is used to treat a skin pigmentation disorder called Melasma and using over the prescribed period could have serious skin complications, that’s where we get a number of complaints,” she said.