The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has issued warning on two healthy products which claim to relieve pain.

It said they contain substances that cause adverse side effects.

One is packaged as a Malay Jamu medicine labelled 'Delima Raja Urat', and the other is a Chinese medicine labelled 'Cao Gen Baj Lin Wan'.

HSA said both were found to contain potent undeclared western medicinal substances, which resulted in two separate cases of severe adverse drug reactions reported by two general practitioners.

Both products were bought from overseas and are not sold here. HSA urged the public to avoid buying and consuming these products.

Delima Raja Urat, which claimed to treat back pain, muscle pain, numbness, weakness and gout, contains dexamethasone, chlorpheniramine, pheniramine and sibutramine.

A woman who had taken this for over a month to relief some pain subsequently suffered symptoms of raised blood sugar, which developed into a type of diabetes.

Cao Gen Baj Lin Wan, which claimed to relax muscles, improve blood circulation and relieve pain, contained two undeclared substances, dexamethasone and chlorpheniramine.

An elderly man who had taken it for over two months to relieve joint pain developed symptoms such as increased blood pressure, rapid weight gain, facial flushing and thinning of skin.

The symptoms seen in these two cases were consistent with adverse effects of dexamethasone, a potent medicine used to treat arthritis and asthma.

Unsupervised and prolonged usage may lead to muscle and bone damage, increased blood sugar, increased blood pressure, increased cholesterol and mental and mood disorders, said HSA.

Those who have come across these products sold illegally should report to HSA's Enforcement Branch at 68663485 or e-mail hsa-is@hsa.gov.sg.