A WOMAN was left with dark and smelly discharge coming from her vagina after taking hair supplements.
The 64-year-old began using Spring Valley Hair Skin and Nail tablets in February after hearing about the positive effects they had on her cousin.
According to the supplement's ingredients list, it contains , , , and pantothenic acid, all known to help with and scalp health.
However, less than a month into the course, she developed , a yeast infection more commonly known as .
It caused “dark, yellow, foul-smelling discharge” and a , according to US doctors describing the case.
“This highlights the possibility of links between common, readily available products that patients use every day without the realisation of unintended side effects,” they said in the Journal of Medical Case Reports.
“The patient would not normally consider that hair, skin, and nails treatment could be affecting her genitourinary (reproductive and urinary) system,” they added.
Thrush is a common fungal infection caused by an overgrowth of Candida albicans, a type of yeast that naturally lives in the body.
In women, it most often affects the vagina, leading to symptoms like itching, burning, and unusual discharge. But it can also affect the mouth.
“This is the first reported case of a hair, skin, and nails supplement associated with vaginal candidiasis,” the authors wrote.
Other side effects linked to similar supplements have included breakouts, skin rashes and .
A few days after stopping the supplement in mid-April, her symptoms gradually improved and eventually disappeared.
By May, the discharge was gone, and there were no further issues during a follow-up visit in June.
Doctors at Purdue University College of Pharmacy in West Lafayette investigated all other possible causes for the infection.
They reviewed her , including , , supplements, and , , and a topical anti-inflammatory gel. None were known to cause thrush.
They also ruled out other common causes like bacterial infections, , and risk factors such as , which could have led to similar symptoms.
Although none of the active ingredients were known to cause thrush, doctors said preservatives or fillers in the supplement may have disrupted her vaginal pH.
“Even inactive ingredients can sometimes shift the balance of the microbiome,”; they wrote.
Flying Eze has contacted Spring Valley for comment.
Supplement regulations
Spring Valley Hair Skin and Nail tablets are primarily available in the US but can also be purchased online in the UK.
In the US, supplements are regulated as food products under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994.
They don’t require US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval before being sold, and manufacturers aren’t obligated to prove they’re safe or effective.
“Because supplements are classified as food products, they don’t undergo the same rigorous testing as medications, leaving potential side effects to go unnoticed,” the doctors explained.
In the UK,supplements are regulated under the Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003, which align with EU and UK food.
They must comply with general food safety legislation and cannot make misleading claims.
But, unlike, supplements are not as strictly regulated and do not undergo the same rigorous testing.
