Cost of Beauty: Women at risk of dangerous cosmetics

Kenya women, especially those young ones who want to look pretty and appealing are using different cosmetics to add beauty on their faces and skins despite the dangers posed by these substances/products. Cosmetic shops sell some of the strongest products some of which react negatively with human skin.
     Despite the serious dangers most of the products in the market pose, women are still easily hooked into using certain cosmetics. In major towns in East Africa, skin medications are used as cosmetics without supervision due to ignorance by the users.Skin treatment ointments and lotions are potent substances used to treat j only certain skin conditions/diseases. There­fore, they have absolutely no indica­tion for cosmetic usage.According to dermatologists, the potency of these preparations varies from one formation/formulation to another. They might be marked as Dermovate. Diprosone.Betnovate.Nerisone.Mediven. Hydrocortisone and others.
     However, they are strictly prescrip­tion products that are used to treating certain diseases, which means a doc­tor decides when, where and for how long a particular product is to be used, saysDr Melanie Miyanji, a consultant dermatologist and venereologist. Dr. Miyanjiwas a former medical consultant at the Aga Khan Hospital and the chairperson of the Kenya Society of Cosmetology and Allergology, She observes that there are serious consequences if these skin products are used wrongly and used for longer than specified time.
    She says that even during the short specified time of use, it was better a medical doctor monitors patients asthey go about with treatment with these cosmetics.j"It is most distressful to see these j products being used as cosmetics | creams to embellish one's face," she adds.Evidently, the skin has an immediate clearing up of blemishes with the use of these creams due to their anti-inflammatory action. Women are therefore reminded that the creams are only given for specific skin diseases and can cause problems where not indicated."Corticosteroid preparations may in­deed cause skin problems, explains Dr Nicholas Ochieng a dermatology lecturer at the Kenya Medical Train­ing Centre [KMTC] who is works at Kenyatta National hospital.These, says Dr. Ochieng, include thinning of the skin which consequently breaks easily and does not heal well, stretch marks are also induced.
     He says that the toxic and can easily damage the upper layer of the skin as well as forming rashes on the skin. It can also flare up or cause exacerbation of other skin infections like bacterial, growth and spread of skin infections such as bacterial, viral and fungal." The worst effect is that they can be absorbed into the blood stream hence causing problems to the rest of the j body systems.The products can mask skin dis­eases impeding or delaying diagno­sis and hence appropriate treatment if a disease is not given proper treatment thus leading to adverse progression of the same to an irreversible state."The more magical, the more imme­diate the effects and the more satis­fying the product/cream may appear, the more potent it is and this should alert women to its toxicity. For this reason our ladies must seek a doctor's consent before using these cosmetics.

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