Did ‘soothing gel’ cause the skin damage on this man’s face?

Daniel was not usually keen on using skin care products, using only soap and foundation for his usual routine.

But then he saw a certain soothing gel sold in Divisoria, not far from the gown shop where he worked.

He had heard of its effectiveness via social media; plus, it only cost P100, compared to its usual retail price of P299 in the malls.

So he decided to give it a try.

At first, the gel worked and his skin felt softer. But on his third use, some of it accidentally went in his eye, causing it to hurt and his vision to blur. Then the skin on his eye and forehead broke out in lesions—reddening, blistering, and crusting over.

Was the gel the cause?

Shingles

In Sunday's episode of "Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho," "Pinoy MD" resident dermatologist Dr. Jean Marquez examined Daniel and found that he has shingles, which had possibly been "activated" by the gel.

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a viral infection that can lie dormant in the skin for years. It is caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV), the same virus that causes chicken pox.

The VZV may remain inactive, hiding in a person's nerve tissue for years, and then reactivate and appear as a painful rash and blisters.

Fake product

Laboratory tests further showed that the product Daniel used is actually a fake version of the soothing gel.

The gel he used only had a 12-percent correlation to the real product—well below the 95-percent threshold required for it to be authentic.

But did it have anything to do with the lesions on Daniel's skin?

Internist Dr. Cheridine Oro-Josef confirmed that the blisters on Daniel's skin is herpes zoster, but said that the gel may not have been the cause of its activation, even though it is a fake product.

Oro-Josef explained that herpes zoster has an incubation period of nine days, whereas Daniel's rash appeared four days after using the product.

However, Daniel's lowered immune system made him vulnerable to the virus' reactivation, while the fake soothing gel may have exacerbated the rash and blisters.

Oro-Josef warned against the use of fake products, saying that these can cause all sorts of adverse reactions in the body.

Consumers are advised to be careful when it comes to the products they put on and in their bodies, and to consult a medical professional if adverse reactions occur. — BM, GMA News