Hanoi woman gets aluminum poisoning from folk remedy for stinky armpits

The 64-year-old woman suffered symptoms like itchy body, feet and palms for two months, and tests revealed that the aluminum levels in her blood and urine was higher than normal, Nguyen Trung Nguyen, director of the Poison Control Center under the Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, said Thursday.

Aluminum level in the blood is not supposed to exceed 12 mcg per liter, and 12 mcg per 24 hours worth of urine. But the patient had a blood aluminum level at 12.5 mcg per liter, and a urine aluminum level at 47.37 mcg. Her kidney functions remains normal, showing that her condition was not caused by failing kidneys.

The patient said she has been putting alum on her armpits twice a day to get rid of its smell over the past 10 years as a folk treatment.

“The patient got aluminum poisoning due to the long-term usage of alum,” Nguyen said, adding that the patient was discharged following a month of treatment, and she no longer uses alum on her body.

Nguyen said it was the first time that the center received a case of aluminum poisoning due to topical use, and from a common and widely available substance like alum.

Alum, also known as potassium alum, can be used as a food additive and used for water treatment. The substance would not cause aluminum poisoning if it is used properly and with the right doses.