Women who consider themselves “too thin” brag on social media about the benefits of an antihistamine, which use to gain weight and increase the size of their buttocksignoring the health risks that its ingestion entails.
The so-called “thin” [“flacas”, en inglés] brag about their discovery Instagram, TikTok or YouTube and they assure that it allows them to get the long-awaited “shapes”, ie voluminous breasts and buttocks.
The drug they use, the Periactin [del laboratorio Teofarma] it is freely sold for less than 10 euros [cantidad similar en dólares] box.
“I, who didn’t eat anymore, now I’m always hungry, I even eat in bed,” says one of them. “It works too well, you get fat right away,” she adds.
Photos taken before and after ingestion of the drug show dramatic weight gain within weeks. But the medicine has as its active ingredient the cyproheptadineintended for allergy sufferers, e It is by no means a dietary supplement.
The French Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (SFPT) he warned in a statement in late March about the phenomenon. The “benefit/risk ratio of cyproheptadine should be re-evaluated with a view to withdrawing its marketing authorization or, at least, including it in a list of mandatory prescriptions”.
Cyproheptadine is a “very old drug, marketed in France since the 1960s”, replaced by much more effective molecules and which no longer requires a medical prescription, Dr. Laurent Chouchana, head of pharmacovigilance for this molecule and member of the of the SFPT. .
Until 1994, the drug was offered “to stimulate the appetite of patients” who were losing weight. But this indication was withdrawn due, in particular, to an accurate and poorly evaluated benefit-risk balance.
Molecules that affect weight are closely monitored for possible abuse, Chouchana adds, such as the anti-diabetic drug Ozempic, which is used for weight loss.
Pharmacists’ representatives, contacted by the AFP, say they only ‘very rarely’ sell it, but the drug is available online, where it is often bought alongside foods that help to gain weight, such as fenugreek seeds, according to the pages of the website consulted. of the AFP.
The French Medicines Agency (ANSM) is currently unable to measure “the increase in sales” but is analyzing the situation, he told AFP.
A year ago, the agency warned health professionals of “a non-compliant and potentially dangerous use of cyproheptadine as an orexigen (appetite stimulant) to induce weight gain for cosmetic purposes”.
A TikTok user recalls trusting other netizens directly. “I didn’t even go to my doctor, I tried,” she says.
Taking cyproheptadine carries health risks. The antihistamine causes “drowsy most of the time”, but also seizures, hallucinations and “more serious effects such as liver, blood, heart problems”especially if there is an overdose, as happens if the quantities suggested in internet videos are followed, according to Chouchana.
In these recordings, users complain of “sleeping all the time” due to Periactin or experiencing severe stomach pains.
Cyproheptadine abuse emerged in Africa before the advent of social media in the 2000s.
In a scientific study conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2011, cases of obesity were reported, particularly as people were becoming addicted to this active ingredient.
AFP extension
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.