DOCTORS have issued an urgent warning about buying medication on the Internet after a North-East woman put her sight at risk.

Eye surgeon Scott Fraser and his colleague Dr Philip Severn, from the Sunderland Eye Infirmary, issued the warning after treating the 64-year-old patient.

They said they were shocked at how easy it was to buy medication on the Internet, after rapidly finding a website offering 1,000 prednisolone steroid tablets for just £25.23.

The unnamed patient, from Sunderland, needed surgery on her eyes after taking steroids she had bought from a website in Thailand over a four-year period.

She took them in the belief that she was treating herself for ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

But unknown to her, the pills were slowly damaging her eyes.

Her problems came to light in February, when she visited an accident and emergency department complaining of increasing sight problems.

When Mr Severn and Dr Fraser examined the patient they found increased pressure inside both eyeballs (glaucoma) and a clouding of the internal lenses (cataract) caused by long-term steroid use.

When questioned, the patient admitted that she had been purchasing prednisolone from an online pharmaceutical company in Thailand.

Last night, Mr Fraser revealed that the patient had undergone a successful cataract operation to replace the clouded lens with a clear artificial lens.

Mr Fraser said it was vital to get the message out to the public that they should not use the Internet to buy prescription medicine.

"It is difficult to know how many people are doing this but they are taking a gamble," he said.

"You don't know what you are buying and even if you get the right stuff you are taking it without medical supervision, which means you could get allergic reactions, side-effects or even worse."

A spokesman for the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said while it was not illegal for individuals to buy prescription-only medication over the Internet for personal use, it was illegal to sell or supply prescription-only drugs in this way without the approval of a doctor.

"If the website operator is based in the UK, we can close down the site and take them to court.

"You can get up to two years imprisonment and an unlimited fine," he added.