NEW YORK, Jan 22 (Reuters Health) -- An Asian folk remedy for menstrual cramps purchased in San Francisco was found to contain dangerously high levels of lead, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
At least one woman in Connecticut was found to have elevated blood lead levels after taking the remedy, known as Koo Sar or Koo So pills, up to six times a day, 7 days per month for 3 to 4 years.
"The public should be aware that the use of traditional remedies can pose a health hazard," according to the CDC.
The 33-year-old Cambodian woman underwent routine lead screening with her family, and was found to have elevated blood levels of the toxin, even though she wasn't suffering from the symptoms of lead poisoning.
Of all the teas, cosmetics, and medicines the woman submitted for testing, lead was detected only in little red pills that were a menstrual cramp remedy manufactured in Hong Kong. The outside of the package, which was written in Chinese, identified the pills as Koo So, while the package insert identified them as Koo Sar.
"Because lead is not listed as an ingredient of Koo Sar pills, it is thought to be a constituent or contaminant of the red dye used to color the pills," according to the CDC report. Lead and other contaminants have been found in folk remedies and cosmetics from East India, Pakistan, China, and Latin America.
Such lead-containing products include alarcon, alkohl, azarcon, bali goli, coral, gliasard, greta, kohl, liga, pay-loo-ah, rueda and surma. Other sources of lead have been contaminated ground paprika, ayurvedic metal-mineral tonics, a fertility drug called Deshi Dewa, a clamshell powder known as hai gen fen, which is added to tea, and pigment used in the insulation of plastic wires.
"Educational interventions should be targeted toward ethnic communities known to use such folk remedies by state and municipal health departments and other community groups; educational materials should warn of the dangers of using folk remedies that might contain toxic ingredients that can lead to adverse health effects," the CDC concludes.
SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1999;48:27-29.
