Chinese woman swallows 8 live frogs for lower back pain following 'folklore remedy'

An 82-year-old Chinese woman in eastern China shocked the nation by swallowing 8 small live frogs.

As reported by Hangzhou Daily, the octogenarian, surnamed 'Zhang' was sent to a Hangzhou hospital in Zhejiang in early September due to severe abdominal pain.

A few days later, the Zhang family informed doctors that her pain was getting unbearable and she needed immediate medical attention.

“My mother ate eight live frogs. Now the sharp pain has made her unable to walk,” her son told the doctor.

Moreover, Zhang, who was suffering from chronic pain from a herniated disc for a long time, heard that swallowing live frogs could help relieve her lower back pain, so she followed that treatment as a '"folklore remedy."

Following this theory, the grandmother asked her family to catch some live frogs for her, without informing them of her intentions.

After her family collected the frogs, Zhang did not cook them but swallowed them live.

According to the medical reports, Zhang consumed three frogs on the first day and the remaining five the next day.

Initially, the old lady felt some discomfort in her stomach. Still, the pain intensified over the following days, which led Zhang to disclose her experience of swallowing live frogs to her family.

Following her case, doctors at Zhejiang University’s top-affiliated Hospital in Hangzhou conducted a physical examination on Zhang.

The team of doctors ruled out the possibility of a tumour but found a dramatic increase in oxyphil cells, which can indicate various illnesses such as parasitic infections and blood disorders.

In addition, further tests confirmed that Zhang was infected with parasites which has wreaked havoc on the patient’s digestive system.

“Swallowing frogs has damaged the patient’s digestive system and resulted in some parasites being present in her body, including sparganum (tapeworms)," a doctor from Hangzhou hospital informed.

Furthermore, Zhang was discharged from the hospital after a two-week treatment.

Senior doctor Wu Zhongwen, from Hangzhou hospital, informed that cases like Zhang’s are not infrequent.

“We have received several similar patients in recent years,” Wu also quoted, “Besides swallowing frogs, some individuals consume raw snake gall or fish gall, or apply frog skin to their own skin.”

“For instance, putting frog skin on one’s body is rumoured to treat skin diseases. However, there is no evidence to support this remedy. On the contrary, it could allow parasites to enter the body, resulting in vision impairment, intracranial infection, and even life-threatening conditions,” Wu explained.

Wu further informed that most of these patients are elderly, communicating little with their families about their health issues and they only seek medical treatment at hospitals when their condition becomes severe.

Doctors warn that quirky unscientific remedies have circulated widely on social media in China.

Additionally, a six-month-old baby girl was diagnosed with lead poisoning because her mother frequently used a method, learned from the internet, of soaking her hand in lead acetate liquid to treat her eczema.

The residual lead element subsequently permeated the baby’s skin, reports doctors.