KABUL (Pajhwok): Some social media users tend to encourage self-medication for weight management and height growth. Medical experts, however, warn the practice is injurious to health.
Thinness, obesity and height growth are concerns for youth and some companies in Kabul and provinces advertise medicines online to address these problems.
Medicine ads on social media
A Facebook page, Afghan Mart, recently released an article titled “medicines for height growth”. The article reads: “Get the most famous height growth medicine — the original product — at the lowest price!
“Don’t worry anymore! It is the only product approved by the FDA in the world (1000mg) with 20 types of amino acids… if you are also part of short people, we recommend you to try this.”
It adds: “These 60 pills, which should be used twice a day, are recommended for ages 15 to 45 and have no side-effects.”
The company, located in the Parwan-i-Seh area of Kabul, sells its products online. It says the price of this is 1,000 afghanis and it can increase the height by 15 to 17 centimeters during the period of use.
Meanwhile, the Quality Online Store also shared on its Facebook page a piece titled “New package for weight gain made in America”,
The article reads: “The original new Gumbo Gold-Plus a completely herbal capsule that is the best for fattening.”
The owner of this produce told Pajhwok via WhatsApp that the company sent medicine to its customers in Kabul, Herat Mazar-i-Sharif, Jalalabad, Badakhshan, Kunduz, Baghlan, Takhar, Samangan, Sar-i-Pul, Jawzjan, Faryab and Daikundi.
Asked why the drug was sold without doctor’s prescription, he replied: “No, this medicine is made in America… and it has no side-effects.”
Bamika Online Store also released an article headlined: “Height growth vegetable oil fully herbal and guaranteed”. It says: “You can get the world’s best-selling product now in Afghanistan.”
The company head said via WhatsApp: “This oil is used at night. Feet should be washed first and then five drops of the oil applied. Feet should be messaged for 10 to 20 minutes. This process should be done once every night for 60 days. The oil costs 1,200 afghanis.”
According to him, this oil is fully herbal and has no side-effects.
Facebook users have different views in this regard. Shuhrat Ghazanfar, one of Facebook users, commented in a post: “Deception has its limit. If a product worth 100-500 afghani can enhance height, the whole Western world would use it … Friends, never be deceived by these low-quality products. Don’t buy them, as they could have harmful side-effects.”
But some people welcomed the post and asked about the product price and location of the store.
Mahnaz, 24, a resident of Kota-i-Sangi who used the medicine to gain weight, told Pajhwok: “I like being fat but I don’t grow fat, so I’m currenlty using the drug va;;ed “Gain Up” for obesity.
“The seller has guaranteed results if the product is used for a month. It has no side-effects, and I have used it without doctor’s advice,” she concluded
He said: “I used this medicine for 45 days, it not only did not work but also caused me severe headache.”
Doctors strongly forbid self-medication
Dr. Sayed Farid Shah Rafiee, an internal medicine specialist in Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan Hospital, told Pajhwok Afghan News that using medicine without a doctor’s prescription was a harmful practice.
“Drugs used to gain weight increase the appetite or steroid anabolic hormones and it would cause fake obesity or overweight which causes many problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, kedney diseases and etc…”
According to him, these drugs may increase appetitie but they can develop side effects such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stomach and mental and nervous problems.
“In genral, my advice is to avoid use of the medicine to increase or decrease weight or height and it is better to use natural methods such as a proper diet and exercise in consultation with experts instead of improper treatment,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dr. Faridullah Omari, trainer and specialist at Antani hospital, said the drugs used for weight gain, loss or height growth had side effects and harmful to health.
He added the use of medicine to gain weight would increase body fat volume, swelling in the body, softening of bones and as well as vision disorders and some other illnesses.
He added height growth, weight gain and lost was a natural process and no medicine had been effective in this regard.
“Regarding height, the reasearch that has been done so far shows that 60 to 70 percent of the increase in height is directly related to heredity and genetic. However, nutrition and exersice also play a role in this, but no special medicine exists to increase the height,” he explained.
Dr. Sharafat Zaman, a spokesamn for the Ministry of Public Health, said: “Whenever these or other medicines are sold illegally, we will certianly prevent it.”
Four years ago, the MoPH said it had banned the sale and use of unhealthy drugs for sexual enhancement, slimming, etc by non-professional and irresponsible people.
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