The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
One research has noted, however, that there is very little published safety information on this particular injectable antioxidant when used as skin whitener. Some studies said it was safe. But others warned that when administered intravenously as a skin-whitening agent at very high doses, it is unsafe and may result in serious consequences to the health of users.
Dangers include bad reactions ranging from skin rashes to the serious and potentially fatal Steven Johnsons Syndrome (severe disease cause upper and lower skin to separate) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (severe disease which cause to rot and peel off), derangements in the thyroid function, potential kidney dysfunction and failure, severe abdominal pain, potential fatal sepsis, injection of air leading to blockage of blood vessels, and infection with HIV or Hepatitis B from unsafe treatment. Many of these dangers are made worse if one uses fake antioxidant products.
Mukisa who personally administers the nutrient to his patients as a beauty prescription says he compares their action to the action other items people eat, for example carbohydrates.
“The way it works is simple. Excess carbohydrates in the body make one fat just like an excess of this antioxidant makes one light-skinned,” he says.
Though his kind of work faces criticism for changing people’s natural or original skin complexion to become lighter, Mukisa does not see any problem with one deciding to have a lighter skin complexion as long as it is safe.
“I take it just the same way as people decide to add weight,” he says, “Working toward having a lighter skin is a matter of a similar choice and preference. That’s why I think it would be wrong for one to imagine that just because one is slim in size; it should be the ideal thing to keep at. People will decide whether they want to be light skinned or dark skinned.”
The exercise of having one’s skin lightened has always been known as a dangerous one. At a point in time, bleaching cosmetics and soaps that contained mercury and hydroquinone were legally banned by authorities off the Ugandan market.
The most recent being when Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) in March issued out a warning to ban the importation of cosmetic products that contain hydroquinone and mercury which poses a great danger to human health. They are said to lead to skin cancer. This ban sparked widespread discussions on the dangers of skin bleaching which some have chosen to overlook.
Mukisa says he has got quite a number of clients that have had their skins get blisters and other forms of damage caused by the continuous use of dangerous products containing mercury and hydroquinone.
“People always come to me as a last resort after unfortunately trying out cosmetics that burn their skins. Luckily enough, we have registered 90% success rating on most skin problems,” he says.
“Our method has proven to be safe over the time we have used it and as a result many have entrusted me to work on them. I work on celebrities, professionals, housewives. I have clients in the UK, USA, Bermuda, Sweden and Australia, who come for this treatment.”
As a result Mukisa is confident that his skin lightening mechanism is safe unlike that which is banned.
On the other hand, authorities discourage the use of medicines the way Mukisa does.
Fredrick Sekyaana the spokesperson of National Drugs Authority (NDA) says any form of drugs have to be dispensed by health professionals and medical personnel who direct patients on how to take medication prescribed to them.
“Any drug shop or pharmacy that sells any form of medication has to first be licensed by the authorities to do the work. Anything contrary to this process is abuse of drugs and is therefore not safe,” he says.
Experts also say it is not advisable to take any form of medicine or nutrient without proper prescription from medical practitioners because one’s body may react to it differently. Dr. Kiwanuka says it is not enough to know about antioxidants but to go the extra step of getting tested to see what amounts need to be administered to avoid any form of unforeseen effects.
But Mukisa says he is confident of his means.
“We never give overdose because we follow the manufacturer’s instructions and we work with professional doctors and nurses,” he says. According to him, they do not don’t resale their antioxidants because they need to closely supervise the “whole transformation process”.
