College Student Dies Within a Day After Taking "Weight Loss Drug"... The Real Cause Revealed as This

Died After Consuming Borax, Believing SNS Diet Information
An Industrial Raw Material Used in Laundry Detergents and Adhesives

In India, a woman died within a day after mistakenly ingesting an industrial raw material as a "weight loss drug," having believed false health information spread on social networking services (SNS).

According to Indian news agencies PTI and NDTV, the recent incident involved a 19-year-old college student, referred to as A, residing in Tamil Nadu.

While searching for diet information on YouTube, A watched a video titled "A Drug That Melts Fat" and purchased the product featured in the video from a pharmacy on January 16.

The next day, A took the product as instructed in the video, but immediately experienced vomiting and diarrhea. After receiving medical treatment at a hospital, she returned home, but her symptoms worsened, leading to severe abdominal pain and bloody stools. She was transferred to a major hospital, but died around 11 p.m. that same day.

The photo is not directly related to the content of the article. Pixabay

A police investigation revealed that the product A ingested was not a pharmaceutical but "borax." Borax, a boron compound, is a colorless or white crystalline substance used as an industrial raw material in laundry detergents, adhesives, and preservatives. Ingesting borax can cause symptoms of poisoning such as gastrointestinal distress, kidney failure, hormonal imbalance, and central nervous system abnormalities. In severe cases, it can be fatal.

Basavaraj S. Kumbar, an internal medicine specialist at Aster Whitefield Hospital in India, warned, "When borax is ingested, symptoms of poisoning can appear within 6 to 7 hours depending on the amount consumed, and it has a direct impact on major organs such as the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, brain, and respiratory system."

Claims that borax is effective for weight loss or reducing inflammation have no scientific basis. Since 2023, phrases such as "relieves joint pain" and "natural detoxifier" have spread on SNS, fueling the proliferation of such false information. In some countries, even the practice of adding borax to bath water has become popular. Experts have pointed out that this too can cause skin irritation and rashes.

Local police are investigating the pharmacy that sold the product to A, as well as the SNS accounts that spread the information. Experts noted that this case once again highlights the problem of indiscriminate dissemination of health information promising rapid effects on SNS and short-form video platforms.