Woman Swallowed Eight Live Frogs To Try And 'Heal Her Back Pain' — But It Went Horribly Wrong

Alternative treatments and folk remedies have always been around, but a woman in China has taken things to an alarming new level. Her attempt to cure chronic back pain made international headlines after doctors discovered what she had swallowed — and the results were far from healing.

The 82-year-old woman, who lives in Hangzhou, eastern China, had suffered for years from intense lower back pain caused by a herniated disc. After trying several medical treatments without success, she reportedly turned to a strange local remedy she believed could restore her health and balance her body’s internal energy.

This so-called cure was unlike anything most people could imagine. Relatives told local media that she had been convinced that live frogs carried healing powers that could cleanse the body of illness. Desperate to end her pain, she decided to test the idea herself — with dangerous consequences.

Some believe live frogs hold healing power, doctors disagree ANTONY DICKSON/AFP/Getty Images

Her decision quickly turned into something out of a horror story. Over the course of two days, the woman swallowed eight live frogs — three on the first day and another five the next — believing the animals would somehow relieve her suffering.

But her condition worsened soon after. She began experiencing severe abdominal pain, nausea, and weakness. Alarmed, her family rushed her to a nearby hospital for emergency care.

Doctors were stunned when they learned what had happened. Tests revealed that her digestive tract had been severely damaged and that she had developed a serious parasitic infection. According to medical reports, she had contracted sparganosis, a rare disease caused by tapeworm larvae that can enter the body after eating raw or live amphibians.

One of the doctors treating her at a hospital in Hangzhou explained: "Swallowing frogs has damaged the patient's digestive system and resulted in some parasites being present in her body, including sparganum".

The bizarre case has since sparked discussions in China about the dangers of unverified traditional remedies still practiced in some rural areas. While many of these beliefs are passed down through generations, medical experts stress that consuming raw or live animals is extremely unsafe and has no proven health benefits.

Sadly, this is not the first time such an incident has made headlines. In 2015, a woman who had been eating live frogs since childhood had a 10-centimeter parasite surgically removed from her head. A few years later, in 2018, a mother in China was filmed feeding her child live tadpoles, claiming it would boost immunity.

Doctors warned the folk remedy left her dangerously infected niuniu/Getty Images

Health experts are urging people to be cautious and avoid following unscientific advice found through friends, family, or social media. They warn that trying to self-medicate with unproven folk cures can easily cause more harm than good — and sometimes even lead to life-threatening infections.

The 82-year-old woman has since undergone treatment and is now recovering. Doctors emphasized that frogs, while part of nature, have no place in medicine and should never be swallowed alive — no matter what old traditions might claim.