Public warned against online drugs after girl has colon removed
Health professionals are warning about the dangers of buying drugs online, after a teenage girl had to have her colon removed in Beaumont Hospital.
The 18-year-old developed a life-threatening condition after just five days of taking diet pills she bought on the internet.
According to reports in the Sunday Times, the teenager was facing organ failure after she took Botanical Soft Gel, a herbal diet pill sold online.
She underwent emergency surgery and doctors said they had to remove her colon.
It is understood the girl had taken the pills because she wanted to tone up for a holiday, even though the medical team noted she had a body mass index of just 22, so was not deemed to be overweight.
The pills, which contained a banned substance in Ireland called Sibutramine, caused the blood vessels in her intestines to swell severely.
Doctors are now warning people not to purchase drugs online.
