The California Department of Public Health is issuing this Health Advisory to notify health care providers, laboratories and public health departments that a woman in Sacramento developed severe lead poisoning and died in March 2024 after using a hemorrhoid ointment from Vietnam called, Cao Bôi Trĩ Cây Thầu Dầu. The woman purchased the product on Facebook and a relative in Vietnam shipped it to the U.S. Testing of the product found that it contained 4% lead (39,000 ppm), a highly dangerous amount of lead. If healthcare providers have patients that have used this hemorrhoid ointment, urge them to stop using it and order a venous blood lead level (BLL) test immediately. Contact California Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 for clinical guidance on lead poisoning. See Health-Based Guidelines for BLL in Adults for specific recommendations based on the patient's BLL results.
You will find the full CDPH Health Advisory here: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/CAHAN/Fatality-from-Lead-Poisoning-Linked-to-Use-of-Hemorrhoid-Ointment-from-Vietnam.aspx
