Teenage Girl Contracted Hepatitis After Drinking Green Tea Bought Online

A teenage girl in the United Kingdom who drank green tea in an attempt to lose weight, caused her to develop acute hepatitis and ended up in the hospital.

The 16-year-old had been consuming Chinese green tea more than three cups a day for three months. She complained to her general practitioner about stomach and joint pain, dizziness and nausea.

The teen said that she bought the green tea online to lose weight. "Most of the ingredients of the tea I bought were written in Chinese. I had only lost a couple of pounds but then started having horrible pains in my joints, and felt very dizzy and sick."

According to the case report that was published in the British Medical Journal. Her doctor thought she had a urinary tract infection and prescribed antibiotics. But the teenager became jaundiced and her symptoms became worse and had to be rushed to the hospital.

"She denied ingestion of alcohol, taking any 'over-the-counter' medications such as paracetamol, or illicit drug use. There was no recent travel history or previous blood transfusions," states her case report.

Doctors discovered the source of the jaundice was inflammation of the liver, which was determined to have been caused by hepatitis.

The case report says, "Only following specific questioning did she reveal that she had, in the preceding three months, regularly consumed internet ordered Chinese green tea, which contained Camellia sinensis. After ceasing green tea consumption, there was a rapid and sustained recovery of her hepatitis."

Green tea is a very safe and healthy drink that has antioxidants. It is the additives that can cause serious health problems and also substances that are added intentionally to promote weight loss.

According to the report, "There is potential for pesticide-induced hepatitis to exist, especially from less regulated products ordered from developing countries over the internet."

Source: Medindia