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Published January 27, 2025 9:22pm
A woman blamed her glutathione drip session for causing an infection that led to her being unable to open one of her eyes.
As seen in Darlene Cay's report on "24 Oras," Monday, Jelly Macha uploaded a video on social media to show what happened to her.
"Hindi marunong 'yung nurse na nagturok sa akin. Una siyang nagturok sa akin dito [right hand], sinagad niya 'yung pinaka-needle and pumutok agad ugat ko. Nag-try ulit rito [left hand] and then pumutok uli."
Two days after her session, Jelly was in so much pain she had to be hospitalized.
"Sobrang sakit na. Hindi ko na siya mapigilan. Hanggang sa dinala na ako sa ER, suka ako nang suka," she said.
Jelly's condition has improved in a subsequent video, but she is not yet fully recovered.
She said her ophthalmologist told her that she had an infection and the nerve of her eye has been affected.
"'Yung vision ko po ngayon ang concern. Medyo nao-open ko na siya pero kung nakikita n'yo 'yung eyeball, nakakakita pa rin pero tatlo pa rin ang paningin ko," she said.
Dr. Itos Yutangco, also an ophthalmologist, said that gluta drip has not been found to directly cause an eye infection.
"Generally, IV drugs, gluta for example, do not cause eye infection except kung contaminated 'yung drug or 'yung ginamit, 'yung needle, paraphernalia na ginamit na magpasok ng drugs," he said.
However, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spokesperson Atty. Pam Sevilla said that glutathione is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a skin lightening agent.
"We consider it as cancer medicine. Kung ginagamit siya na pampaputi, definitely hindi po 'yan aprubado ng Food and Drug Administration (FDA)," she said.
Philippine Dermatological Society president Dr. Jasmin Jamora said intravenous (IV) glutathione is only approved for the mitigation of the side effects of chemotherapy. It can possibly affect the thyroid, kidney, and liver.
"Puwede pong toxicity, abnormalities, gastritis, puwede rin kidney failure, puwede pong masakit ang dibdib, serious skin problems, mga side effects, mga allergy," she said.
Other IV drips advertised as beauty treatments like Vitamin C drips can also be dangerous.
"Kung masyadong mataas ang dose is at some point puwede rin pong maging acidic 'yung urine at mag-cause ng kidney stones," Jamora said.
One exception is the doctor-prescribed use of gluta drip to alleviate symptoms of an illness, such as rheumatic fever.
Since 2019, the FDA has seized P20 million worth of illegal whitening products, including gluta drip. Some oral glutathione products have been FDA-registered, but they are also not allowed to be promoted as whitening agents.
The Department of Health also previously warned about the hazards of using IV gluta for whitening.
—MGP, GMA Integrated News
