The truth behind the 'cough medicine' that's taking New York by storm: it doesn't cure the flu.
Recently, due to the rampant influenza, known as "honey and loquat herbal tonic," the Kyoto Nian Ci'an Honey Refinement Pei Pa Koa, which is called "honey and loquat herbal tonic" by Americans, has suddenly gained popularity, with many people spreading rumors about its miraculous efficacy, and the highest price tag for this medicine on Amazon has reached 85.58 US dollars. As a result, the stock price of Golden Living Pharmaceutical Group, the distributor of Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa, also rose for a time.
Has a Chinese over-the-counter (OTC) cough suppressant Chinese medicine really conquered the West? In fact, in the U.S., Nien Ci An Loquat Cream is only considered a supplement. U.S. medical experts warn that the herb should not be used as the first line of defense in preventive treatment of influenza. Doctors from a number of hospitals in Beijing also said in an interview with the New Beijing News that the main effect of such drugs as Chuanbei loquat paste is to clear away heat and moisten the lungs, cough and phlegm, and can not treat the flu, but only to relieve the symptoms of cough and phlegm, and taking must follow the doctor's instructions, not blindly taken.
Nin Jiom Loquat Cream New York Circle
The latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that in the third week of 2018 alone, 4,064 people across the U.S. **** died from influenza and pneumonia, accounting for about 10 percent of the total number of deaths in the same period. The death toll is expected to rise as the flu epidemic continues to rise. Amid the flu anxiety, New Yorkers, eager to discover and share new recipes for curing illnesses, have begun spreading word of mouth about a cough medicine from Hong Kong, China, called Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa.
In February, the Wall Street Journal published a story about Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa, which put Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa directly on the U.S. hot list. The story mentioned that Alex Schweder, a professor and architect at Pratt, the world's 9th largest art school, had been coughing for more than a week, and after taking Nin Jiom Loquat Cream, the effects began to be felt within 15 minutes.
William Chen, owner of Pearl River Department Store in New York, also mentioned that suddenly everyone was talking about Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa, and many white people came seeking the product.
New Beijing News reporter found that Nin Jiom loquat cream is sold for $7 per bottle in offline drugstores, while in Amazon shopping, the highest price tag reached $85.58. Many merchants also marked "goods stock is small, want to buy quickly" reminder. However, the outrageously priced Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa was not available, and there were no sales records.
After the WSJ report came out, Nin Jiom immediately took to Weibo to promote the story, retweeting a story about Nin Jiom's loquat cream with the comment, "Awesome loquat cream!" as a comment to retweet the report on the popularity of Nin Jiom's loquat cream in the United States. The popularity of the loquat cream in the United States has brought it to the social circle, but Kyoto Nin Jiom has also found that many of its customers have bought fake products, and even the packaging has been copied so much that the manufacturer has had to popularize the product on Weibo to learn how to recognize the real product.
Nin Jiom loquat distributor shares soared
Multiple domestic media reprinted the report in the Wall Street Journal at the same time, saying that the report was transmitted back to the country, resulting in the distributor of Nin Jiom loquat, Hong Kong-listed Golden Living Pharmaceuticals, also benefited from the report. On Feb. 23, shares of Golden Living Pharmaceutical Group opened at HK$1.13 and closed at HK$1.16. After a weekend, it opened at HK$1.5 on February 26, rose to HK$1.8, and finally closed at HK$1.45, a gain of 25%. 4.14% gain was maintained on February 27, after which the share price started to fall back in the following two days, but it was still higher than the share price on February 26, which was still higher than the share price on February 26. As of 12 p.m. on March 5, the share price was HK$1.35.
New Beijing News interviewed Golden Living Pharmaceuticals on the matter, which responded that "it's not just an increase in exposure." The recent outbreak of influenza at home and abroad and the seriousness of the flu epidemic have led to a sharp increase in market demand for related pharmaceutical products. As a result, related pharmaceutical companies have also attracted the focused attention of the capital market recently and become hot investment targets for investors. The recent rise in the Group's share price was on the one hand driven by the rise in the share price of the pharmaceutical sector, which produces and sells influenza medicines. On the other hand, it may also be due to the group's recent rapid increase in market exposure, the company's business model has been recognized by the market.
Meanwhile, other cough products are not far behind.
Baiyunshan Pangaoshou on February 28 and March 1, respectively, with the "national big brand" topic @ Kyoto Nin Jiom, this marketing obviously played a role in the effect. Xinjing Daily reporter saw from the comments, some netizens just take this to learn, "the original Pan GaoShou also have loquat cream". There are also netizens commented, "This creative, and rivals to play together, the atmosphere."
1Pharmacy.com told the Beijing News reporter, winter and spring is the high incidence of colds and coughs, cough products have been in a state of hot sales. 1Pharmacy.com's data show that the overall sales of Kyoto Nin Jiom Honey Pei Pei Pei Loquat Cream in February than in January, an increase of 77%, of which the Kyoto Nin Jiom Honey Pei Pei Pei Loquat Cream 300 ml sales increased by 125% compared with the previous month and has been in a state of hot sales. In the cough medicine category, the top three were Kyoto Nin Jiom Honeyed Pei Pa Koa Cream, Baiyunshan Pan Gaoshou Snake Gall Bladder Pei Pa Koa Cream, and Taiji Emergency Syrup. The latter two during the Spring Festival sales were basically flat.
In addition, the new Beijing News reporter learned from Baiyunshan Pangaoshou, affected by the flu, in mainland China, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Canada and so on are sold Pangaoshou honey refined Sichuan Pei Loquat Cream doubled year-on-year sales, out of stock seriously, before the festival so far has been in overtime production.
Cough medicine does not serve as the first line of defense against influenza
And at home, the recent Xinjing Daily reporter visited Beijing's Jundetang, Wanghetang, Jiazitang pharmacy, and did not find the scene of Chuanbei loquat paste hot sales. Subsequently, the Beijing News reporter to cough for the reason that the purchase of medicines, pharmacy staff inquired in detail about the symptoms, and did not directly recommend Chuanbei loquat cream, but with its efficacy is similar to other drugs. The above drugstore staff said that the loquat cream can not cure the disease, can only play a supplementary role in coughing.
In fact, according to the report, Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa was introduced into the U.S. market as a herbal dietary supplement, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that consumers communicate with their healthcare providers before taking such supplements and be wary of exaggerated advertising of such products, but the FDA does not have the authority to review the safety and efficacy of supplements.
The popularity of Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa in the U.S. at a time when the flu is raging has also raised concerns among U.S. medical experts. The Wall Street Journal reported that Dr. Keith?Brenner, a pulmonary medicine specialist at Columbia University Medical Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, believes that taking herbal supplements may pose health risks, including overdosing or taking medications over the counter. People who use such herbal supplements may not even disclose this information to their doctors, which can be a hidden danger.Dr. Brenner cautions that in the case of the flu, the most critical moment to focus on is the timing of the viral infection, as antiviral medications, such as Tamiflu, need to be taken within the first 48 hours if they are to be effective. If herbal remedies are used as a first line of defense, that window is lost, especially if someone has other medical problems, and then the flu virus can lead to hospitalization and even more frightening risks of death.
Jinwood Pharmaceuticals told reporters that the main ingredients of Nin Jiom Loquat Cream are traditional Chinese medicines such as Chuanbeimu, bitter almonds, and hemicrania. Chuanbei mother and bitter almonds have the effect of relieving cough, resolving phlegm and moistening the lungs, which will provide some relief for symptoms such as sore throat, dry cough and phlegm caused by a mild cold. In western medicine, influenza is caused by viruses, unlike common colds, and is often accompanied by complications, the most common of which are upper respiratory tract infections, acute bronchitis, pneumonia, etc. For influenza, it is important to use antiviral therapy. For influenza, it is necessary to use antiviral drugs, and to take the appropriate drugs for complications. Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa, as a proprietary Chinese medicine, is very important to be used for specific diseases, and it is recommended to follow the doctor's instructions and refer to the product manual in detail. For those who are already suffering from influenza, it is also recommended to seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Zhou Xiumei, director of the respiratory department at Fengtai Hospital in Beijing, also reminded that it is necessary to determine the degree of severity of the illness of patients with influenza, so as to make selective use of drugs. If the influenza patients with mild symptoms, there are no other complications, you can not use antiviral drugs, the choice of some proprietary Chinese medicines can be, such as Lotus Clearance. But patients with bronchitis, upper respiratory tract infection symptoms, can be added on the basis of Western medicine, such as some of the more mild Chinese medicines such as Pei Pa Koa, to help the condition of faster recovery.
Take cough medicine may lead to aggravation
Many people love to use loquat paste for cold and cough, and there are even reports that some people in the U.S. use loquat paste to smear sandwiches and make cocktails.
In this regard, Beijing Haidian District, Qinglongqiao Community Health Center, director of Chinese medicine and rehabilitation, Li Yushuang reminded, Chuanbei loquat paste phlegm, cough, clearing heat and pharyngeal, the main treatment of lung heat, phlegm heat, dry throat, throat itching. However, the cold nature of the medicine can only be used for hot diseases, and it is not effective for cold and phlegmatic cold coughs with symptoms such as runny nose and fear of cold at the beginning, which may aggravate the symptoms. At the same time, Chuanbei Pei Pa Koa Ointment contains half-summer, and is not suitable for long-term large quantities of consumption, otherwise it will lead to cold spleen and stomach. It is especially unsuitable for people with cold spleen and stomach.
Additionally, the opposite medicine should be avoided between proprietary Chinese medicines and tonics. For example, half-summer is the opposite of aconite-type medicines, and the two will react, leading to some problems with the digestive system and nervous system. And so many Chinese medicines/proprietary Chinese medicines for joint diseases contain aconite-type medicines. It is also important to be aware of similar ingredients in different herbs/proprietary Chinese medicines, as this may lead to enhanced synergistic effects of the herbs, equivalent to an overdose of the drug.
There are also cough medicines, such as 999 Strong Loquat, which some people worry about becoming addicted to over the long term. In this regard, Li Yushang said the drug is not addictive when taken for a short period of time, and such cough suppressants are rarely taken for a long period of time. "If taken for a long time, there is still a risk of addiction to the drug." If the cough remains unabated for two weeks, further tests should be considered to rule out other diseases.
Tong Haiyan, an attending physician in the Chinese medicine department at Beijing Fengtai Hospital, reminded the following groups of people to be cautious with honey-refined Chuanbei loquat paste:
1. Diabetics. Honey loquat paste contains honey, may cause blood sugar rise, diabetic patients are prohibited to take.
2. People who are allergic to Chuanbei and loquat should not take it.
3. The medicinal properties of these drugs are cold, pregnant women and weak people need to be careful to take.
4. Children should reduce the dosage to half of the adult dosage, and need to take under the guidance of a physician or adult supervision.