A post-COVID treatment drug is sold online. (Photo: cand.com.vn) Nguyen Thi Huong, a bank employee in Hanoi, said that she had COVID-19 forseven days before testing negative.
She knew that her colleagues suffered from post-COVID symptoms after returningfrom work, such as difficulty breathing, coughing and fatigue.
“Worried about the post-COVID-19 symptoms, I ordered two bottles of the lungsupplement 'Healthy Care Original Lung Detox' with 180 tablets, from Australia.It was 1.3 million VND,” she said.
Five out of seven people in her section had COVID-19 and all of them bought thesupplements, Huong said, adding that some people even ordered up to ten boxesto reserve for their families.
Dang Van Tien, of Hanoi’s Hai Ba Trung district, said that nearly three weeksafter recovering from COVID-19, he began to experience shortness of breath,chest tightness, a sore throat and coughing.
“Although I went to the doctor and a chest X-ray showed no damage to my lungs,I was still worried about the post- COVID-19,” he said.
He contacted online stores and bought a Japanese lung medicine called Tsumura,which cost 1.25 million VND per box.
"Visiting online stores and Facebook pages, I was confused about which oneto buy because there are so many Japanese lung tonics being offered for saleand they are sold at different prices,” Tien said.
"The products were said to be from Australia, the US, Japan or France,which made me very confused in choosing one," he said.
He ended up buying the products that sellers suggested or those his friendsalso used.
According to the owner of a pharmacy store on Tran Khat Chan street, Hanoi’s HaiBa Trung district, the number of people asking to buy COVID test kits orCOVID-19 treatment drugs has dropped recently.
In the past few weeks, consumers of his store usually asked for supplements toboost health after COVID-19 recovery.
“Consumers often ask to buy products containing ingredients of high-grademedicinal herbs, such as Ganoderma lucidum, cordyceps or ginseng, which arevery good for health, with tonic and stimulating effects that help users eatwell, sleep well," the owner said.
Due to the increasing demand for supplements, advertisements and the sale ofsupplements has become rampant on social networks like Zalo, Facebook andYoutube.
Many sites have servers located abroad, which causes difficulties for theauthorities in managing the advertising content and identifying subjects thatinfringe on advertising regulations.
Moreover, it is difficult to verify the quality of the products sold online,especially when authorities detect and seized large numbers of supplements withunclear origins, or smuggled ones.
Last month, HCM City Market Management Department discovered more than 161,000products including drugs, functional food, and cosmetics which were suspectedof being smuggled at the warehouse of NMD Import-Export Co., Ltd (specialisingin domestic and international freight) in Tan Phu district.
Doctor Tran Cong Binh, of the Department of Emergency Resuscitation, CentralHospital of Endocrinology, said that if a patient has a severe continuous coughwith phlegm, insomnia, shortness of breath or fatigue, they should go tothe hospital for a medical check.
“Patients should not self-medicate as it is dangerous,” he said, giving anexample of a patient with severe lung damage, who took many different drugs ofunknown origin without asking for a doctor's consultation, making their illnessmore serious.
“Once recovered from the COVID-19, the important thing to do is to have ahealthy nutritious diet and proper exercise, so that the body can recoverfaster. Patients can perform exercises such as jogging, aerobics, cycling,push-ups and squats with moderate intensity and gradually increasing. Thishelps increase the heart rate and promotes blood flow, which can help the lungsrecover faster,” he said.
Doctor Dinh The Tien from the Duc Giang General Hospital said that patients whocame to get post-COVID checks usually bring with them a lot of tonics,including those for lungs, brain and nerves, in an attempt to strengthen theirimmune system. However, most of the ingredients and origins are unknown.
For young people who are fully vaccinated, even if they then are infected withCOVID-19, they usually have mild symptoms and recover on their own.
After recovering from COVID-19, symptoms of fatigue can be adjusted with areasonable lifestyle. People can recover on their own without taking any otherspecial medicine, Tien said.
He said that it is a big concern when patients self-prescribe drugs withoutdoctors’ advice.
“Many people just listen to the advice of other patients or sellers to buytonics, which costs money and creates bad health habits because they depend ondrugs too much,” he said.
“Tonics are sold widely, though their effects, mechanisms and safety are notguaranteed. Some drugs with unknown ingredients can harm users’ health.Patients need to be very cautious when using drugs or functional foodsoriginating from abroad with unclear origins, or drugs sold on the internetthat are not licensed by the Ministry of Health," warned Tien./.
VNA
