Extremely High Mercury Content In Fairness Cream Led To Kidney AilmentsNagpur: Amid the recent crackdown on dealers selling Pakistan-made fairness cream Goree in Maharashtra and widespread social media reports linking the product to kidney ailments in at least 18 users, nephrologists in Vidarbha say they had identified similar cases as early as 2023-24, well before the raids began.Kidney specialists in the region had repeatedly flagged the dangers of fairness creams such as Goree, citing their extremely high mercury content. The Nagpur unit of the Nephrologists Society had even launched an awareness drive, but the issue gradually faded from public attention, doctors said, adding that regulatory action should have come much earlier.One city-based nephrologist independently tested samples of the cream at a private laboratory and found mercury levels as high as 5,700 parts per million (PPM) — far exceeding the permissible limit of 1 PPM.According to doctors, most of the affected patients were diagnosed with membranous nephropathy, a kidney disorder linked to mercury exposure. The toxic metal is absorbed through skin pores and eventually enters the bloodstream. As the kidneys filter out the mercury, prolonged exposure can damage the organs, said the doctors.Most patients were women in their 20s who presented with symptoms such as body swelling, frothy urine and other signs indicative of kidney disease. Their age and medical histories initially puzzled doctors. Detailed questioning, however, revealed a common factor — regular use of Goree fairness cream, marketed for its rapid skin-lightening effects. Doctors said the cream’s high mercury content suppresses melanin production, leading to a lighter complexion.Dr Prashant Jawandhia is believed to be among the first nephrologists in the region to identify a possible link between the cream and kidney disease.“My first patient was a young woman from an area near Nagpur. She came with problem of swelling and frothy urine. The case was initially confusing. A biopsy was performed, and a cancer-related antigen mentioned in reports by a US doctor was detected. However, the patient did not have cancer. I then began probing deeper into her lifestyle and learnt that she had recently started using a new fairness cream,” Dr Jawandhia said.At the time, Dr Jawandhia was attached to Govt Medical College’s Super Speciality Hospital. “I got the cream tested and found it contained 5,700 PPM of mercury,” he said.Over the following months, he encountered several similar cases. One patient from Madhya Pradesh had also been using the cream. According to Dr Jawandhia, the man’s brother, who had exhibited similar symptoms, had died shortly before.Dr Jawandhia was not alone as other nephrologists also came across such patients. Other nephrologists across Vidarbha reported comparable experiences. The cases were not confined to Nagpur, with kidney specialists from different parts of the region confirming they had treated patients with a history of Goree use.Dr Monali Sahu, then president of the Nephrologists Society, said she treated two such patients in 2024, one of whom continues to undergo follow-up treatment.Dr Jairaj Korpe of Akola also treated a patient who showed classic symptoms of kidney disease and had a history of using the fairness cream. He later came across several published case studies documenting similar links between mercury-laden cosmetic products and kidney damage.
