Let the buyer beware when purchasing creams allegedly used in Chinese medicine! Many of them contain harmful chemicals known to cause severe physiological setbacks. Even as there is no surefire way to tell at a glance if you are about to make a risky purchase, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself.

* Check for a list of ingredients. If it is missing or not available in English, do not buy the cream. Even though it may be harmless, the failure to showcase any and all ingredients listed is a method employed by ruthless manufacturers who might cut their products with substandard substances.

* Look for substances which you know are banned, such as ephedrine, and do not purchase any products that are said to contain them.

* Prior to your purchase, check reputable sites on the Internet to research the name of the mix. A wide variety of substances have been tested and the results are readily available.

* Do not fall for the promotional hype. Many substances are packaged to mimic a traditional Chinese mode of selling a supplement, and some buyers are fooled into believing that they are actually purchasing an honest to goodness herbalist approved and prepared item. In reality they are buying little more than commercially packaged supplement which may or may not have anything to do with Chinese medicine yet nonetheless are sold for top dollars.

Granted, letting the buyer beware puts a lot of risk on the shoulder of the consumer and many have wondered about the responsibility of the government. While there is much being done to ensure that the various supplements, herbs, and tinctures imported into the United States are safe for human consumption, not all imports are declared and a large black market economy has sprung up around various substances currently banned in America. Brought in packaged as candy or other safe substances, these medicines soon make it onto the shelves of small mom and pop operations where eager shoppers who forge into the undiscovered world that is Chinatown will scoop them up quickly.

Another cause of concern is the Internet. Anything is for sale on the 'Net and many a website boasts its efficiency in rounding up the desired chemicals and compounds for the demanding consumer. While it may be odd to see a buyer actually ask to purchase something that is known to have severe adverse effects, the reality simply points to the right marketing tool - generally speaking, when it deals with virility and weight loss, virtually anything will sell.

Thus far the reports of various dangers have not gone unheard, although they usually make the sensational headlines on the news only if a large number of individuals fall ill or if a celebrity is adversely affected by the substance. The average housewife who suffers a heart attack from taking a weight loss compound containing ephedrine, the jock that dies at the gym after his heart rate spirals out of control, and the host of those who are suffering from gradually progressive renal failure usually never make the headlines.

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