Doctors issue warning over illegal skin-lightening creams

UK doctors have reissued warnings over the dangers of using illegal skin-lightening creams, following a woman developing a serious illness after using them.

According to the BBC, the woman was diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome, which is caused by high levels of steroid hormones such as cortisol in the blood. However, tests showed very low levels of cortisol and the patient eventually admitted to using about two tubes per week of a skin-lightening cream, purchased over the counter at a local shop.

In medical journal The Lancet, medics from west London’s Hammersmith Hospital said people were unaware of the potential toxicity of such creams.

They also said that the market for illegal skin-bleaching creams is worth millions of pounds a year in the UK alone.