An 82-year-old woman in eastern China was hospitalized after swallowing eight live frogs in an attempt to cure her chronic lower back pain, according to local reports.
The woman, identified only by her surname Zhang, reportedly believed in a folk remedy claiming that eating live frogs could relieve pain from her herniated disc. Without revealing her intentions, she asked her family to help catch the small frogs—each no larger than the palm of a hand.
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Zhang swallowed three frogs on the first day and five more the next, but soon began suffering from severe stomach pain. She was taken to Zhejiang University No. 1 Affiliated Hospital in Hangzhou, where her son told doctors, “My mother ate eight live frogs. Now the sharp pain has made her unable to walk.”
Doctors ran several tests and confirmed that Zhang had developed a parasitic infection, including the presence of sparganum, a parasite often found in amphibians. Medical staff said the practice had damaged her digestive system, leading to the infection.
Zhang was treated for two weeks before being discharged.
Dr. Wu Zhongwen, a senior physician at the hospital, said similar cases have been reported over the years, often involving elderly patients who rely on unverified home remedies. “We have received several similar patients in recent years,” Wu said. “Besides swallowing frogs, some people consume raw snake or fish gall, or apply frog skin to their body.”
He warned that such methods carry serious health risks, including vision problems, intracranial infections, and even life-threatening complications.
Despite the dangers, unscientific folk cures continue to circulate online and through word of mouth in parts of China. In one recent case, doctors treated a baby girl for lead poisoning after her mother soaked her hands in lead acetate—following a viral internet “remedy” for eczema.
Medical experts continue to urge the public to seek proper medical treatment rather than relying on traditional or internet-sourced “natural cures.”
