The Department of Health is investigating three heavy metal poisoning cases after patients took medications for chronic skin disease prescribed outside Hong Kong.
The patients had excessive amounts of arsenic or mercury.
A 16-year-old girl with eczema had taken capsules prescribed by someone who claimed to be a doctor in Thailand, and was found to have excessive amounts of arsenic in her body.
A woman and a 27-year-old man who both suffered from psoriasis had taken a group tour to Dongguan in February to see a self-proclaimed Chinese medicine practitioner who prescribed them both pills. They were sent to hospital for numbness and weakness, believed to be caused by the pills.
They have all been treated and are in stable condition.
The department reminded people to consult qualified healthcare professionals for chronic skin conditions.
