Khaberni - An 82-year-old Chinese woman ate eight small live frogs after hearing that they help treat lower back pain, according to Chinese folk medicine.
The South China Morning Post reported that the elderly woman was taken to the hospital after her attempt to use this folk remedy to alleviate back pain. The retiree, named Zhang, tried to relieve the pain by swallowing eight small live frogs.
According to the newspaper, Zhang had long suffered from a herniated disc and heard that an unusual treatment could help solve her problem. She asked her son to catch the frogs for her without telling him what she was planning.
After he brought her frogs smaller than the palm of his hand, she ate three of them immediately. The retiree then ate the rest the following day. A day later, she felt severe stomach pain, which led to her being taken to the hospital. The examination revealed parasites in her body.
In an interview with the newspaper, the doctor overseeing her treatment said that such cases are not rare.
He added: "In recent years, victims of folk medicine fall into the hospital so we can treat them for the consequences of this behavior. They not only consume live frogs but also snake bile or raw fish, and they put frogs on their bodies."
The doctor explained that most of these patients are elderly individuals who turn to folk medicine only when their health deteriorates.
