Experts refute 'unproven' effervescent tablet for haemorrhoid treatment

The video has been viewed more than one million times on Facebook since June 5, 2023.

The Burmese-language caption of the video reads, in part: "This product is made with 100% natural ingredients, HomoStop will relieve your pain quickly without any side effects. The product is FDA certified and has been tested by thousands of users worldwide."

The footage shows a woman saying in Burmese that the tablets will cure haemorrhoids, which are swollen blood vessels in the anus and lower rectum (archived link).

"Add a small tablet to a glass of water, stir it with a spoon, and you can easily drink it," she says. "It has a sweet smell and a ripe fruit taste. It will improve the strength of small blood vessels and relieve haemorrhoids."

The post also links to a website that includes an image of a purported safety certificate from Myanmar's Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on July 10, 2023

Other videos promoting the purported effects of the tablets were also posted to Facebook here, here and here, some of them referring to the product as "HemoStop".

However, medical experts have said there is no evidence suggesting the tablets are effective for haemorrhoids.

Keyword searches for "HomoStop" and "HemoStop" on Myanmar's FDA website and its drug database found no information about the tablet (archived link).

'Not proven'

Dr. Thurein Hlaing Win, country manager of healthcare website Hello Sayarwon in Myanmar, told AFP on July 3 there is no scientific evidence showing the tablets mentioned in the false posts can cure haemorrhoids (archived links here and here).

"It is completely a hoax," he said in an email. "I found no reliable evidence that the tablets are being widely used for haemorrhoids and any information where it was manufactured and what it was effective for, etc."

He said piles are mostly treated using analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs, ointments, injections and surgeries.

His comments were echoed by Jenna Sherman, program manager for Meedan's Digital Health Lab -- an organisation that tackles health misinformation -- who said on July 7 there was no evidence the tablets could cure haemorrhoids or any other health condition (archived link).

"There is no guaranteed complete cure for haemorrhoids besides haemorrhoidectomy, with other treatments consisting of daily behavioural change such as increasing fibre in the diet, taking sitz baths, drinking more water, improving toilet habits, and increasing physical activity," Sherman said.

She warned that relying on quick substitutes for approved treatment methods "have the potential to be dangerous".

Questionable 'safety certificate'

Further analysis by AFP identified elements that suggest the "safety certificate" shown on the product webpage is not genuine.

Its English-language date of issue is December 7, 2022 but in Burmese-language it is dated December 7, 2016. Its expiry date in the two languages also differs -- the English version states December 6, 2026 while the Burmese states it is December 6, 2018.

The certificate also contains a signature by a disgraced former director-general of Myanmar's FDA, Than Htut. He was removed from the position in April 2018 after he was charged with corruption, according to local reports here and here (archived here and here).

A header in both English and Burmese appears to state the certificate was issued by the "Ministry of Health and Sports". However, it was replaced with a new Ministry of Health in 2021 that was put in charge of issuing safety certificates (archived link).