In a shocking case, an 82-year-old Chinese woman swallowed eight small live frogs believing it would alleviate her lower back pain caused by a herniated disc as she relied on a folklore remedy, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
Unfortunately, this unconventional method led to severe abdominal pain, and the woman, surnamed Zhang, ended up hospitalised in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.
“My mother ate eight live frogs. Now the sharp pain has made her unable to walk,” her son told the doctor as quoted in the report.
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As per the report, the elderly woman had suffered from a herniated disc for a long time. She asked her family to catch some live frogs for her when someone told her that swallowing them could help relieve her lower back pain.
Her mistake was to believe this bizarre theory, as there’s no medical evidence supporting this claim.
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Meanwhile, her digestive system collapsed after swallowing live frogs, with parasites like sparganum infecting her body. She experienced intense pain, making it hard to walk.
She was admitted to a hospital in Hangzhou, and doctors conducted a physical examination on her. The medical experts found a dramatic increase in oxyphil cells, which indicates many illnesses, such as parasitic infections and blood disorders.
Doctors also conducted a few detailed tests. “Swallowing frogs has damaged the patient’s digestive system and resulted in some parasites being present in her body, including sparganum,” a doctor from the hospital informed the media.
After two weeks of treatment, she was discharged from the hospital.