Makeup website catches attention of I-Team after discovery of prescription drug trading

TAMPA - A cosmetics website full of reviews, diaries and links caught the attention of the ABC Action News I-Team after we found prescription drug trading happening online.

We discovered five types of potentially dangerous prescription medications on the swap page of makeupalley.com.

When we searched, we found dozens of listings for the acne medications Differin, Clindamycin and Retin A along with the glaucoma medicine Lumigan.

"This is someone trading things that require an exam, history and physical from a physician prior to getting these types of medications," said Tampa Dermotologist Dr. Seth Forman.

Alley Heyman was also surprised when we told her about trading of prescription medicine on a makeup website. Heyman knows first hand that acne medicine can trigger serious side effects if not taken exactly as prescribed.

Alledy had a presription of doxycylcline, but didn't take one of her doses with the proper amount of fluid. The pill stayed in her esophagus and burned a hole in the lining.

We called Makeup Alley and asked if they were aware of the drug trading on their swap page. They responded with this statement:

"It is clearly stated on the site that swapping prescription medication is not allowed. The site has been up for 10 years and rarely does anything pop up, but when it does, we remove it immediately."

The website also said they will move their policy against prescription items to a more prominent location on their page. 

The FDA has an entire page dedicated to buying medicine on the internet. You can find that here .