Health officials in Garissa have raised alarm over the increased use of skin-lightening products that have devastating side effects and health complications.
There has been a pop-up of unregulated medical and skincare content creators on social media sites, attracting a huge following by just promoting the usage of beauty and skin-lightening products.
Nurta Mohamed, a Non-communicable Diseases’ Coordinator in the Garissa County Department of Health, while speaking during a forum organised by the Ministry of Health on curbing drug abuse in Garissa, warned women against using such products.
She regretted that some users have gone to the extent of mixing several creams in a bid to maximise the outcome, thus endangering their health in the process.
“Our women are currently abusing the skin-lightening creams. There is a local name here in Garissa referred to as qasqas, which is a mixture of so many creams and then it is applied to the body just to make sure that they get light-skinned,” Nurta said.
“We also have another drug called dexamethasone; the local name here is isqarhis, meaning kujilipua. When they take these drugs, one of the cardinal issues that they are looking for is to have their colour changed but the other hidden side effects that they are undergoing are quite serious,” she added.
Nurta said that some of the complications that come along with those drugs include the early onset of diabetes. Additionally, she said that some of those drugs contain mercury, hydroquinones, and lead, which cannot be eliminated from the kidneys, leading to kidney failures, especially in young girls.
“These products further erode the skin such that when such a person undergoes a surgery operation, it makes it hard for doctors during sutures and sometimes they fail. These products also cause hormonal imbalance, leading to either inadequate or no period, thus making it hard for them to conceive,” she said.
The sentiments were echoed by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) Vice Chairperson Ann Mathu, who cautioned women against such products while rallying them to embrace their colour.
“There is something we have learnt about the skin-lightening products which our ladies are using and actually the personnel from the health department have said that these products are leading to health problems, especially infertility, kidney complications, and having mercury in the blood,” Mathu said.
“Some people have also gone to the extent of applying these products to their small children because some become very light while their children are still dark skinned and they want to avoid those kinds of questions,” she added.
By Erick Kyalo
