Drinking borax is latest TikTok trend medical experts are debunking
At least twice a month, Dr. Kelly Johnson-Arbor a viral social media trend that could endanger people’s health. This week it’s borax.
The powdered substance is found in laundry detergent and is sold solely as a cleaning agent. Boric acid, another formulation of the same compound – boron – is also used to kill ants and cockroaches.
Borax is banned in US foods, but some people on TikTok have incorrectly claimed that adding a pinch of it to their water could reduce inflammation and ease joint pain, or that soaking in borax in the bathtub could “detoxify” the body. Several influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok recommended borax in videos that have since been removed.
Johnson-Arbor, a toxicologist and associate medical director at the National Capital Poison Center, regularly writes articles for the center’s website correcting the record of dangerous health fads.
She said borax can cause stomach irritation and potentially cause blue-green vomiting or diarrhea if ingested. Over time, anemia and seizures can develop, she said, and soaking in borax can cause rashes that make the skin appear as bright pink as a cooked lobster and begin to fall off.
“There’s really nothing that supports the use of borax in humans to fight inflammation or reduce oxidative stress or anything like that,” Johnson-Arbor said.
As more and more health misinformation spreads on TikTok, a growing group of medical professionals are compelled to educate people on and off the platform about the dangers of these so-called hacks and alternatives.
Last month, Johnson-Arbor said she wrote an article warning about berberine, a weight-loss supplement that some on TikTok called “nature’s Ozempic” but is known to cause gastrointestinal problems.
Similarly, social media hype surrounding the weight-gain supplement Apetamin suggests that it can make people “slim-fat,” meaning it can give people a thin waist and wide butt. But it contains an antihistamine, and the Food and Drug Administration has warned that apetamine is imported illegally and can cause dizziness, drowsiness, an irregular heartbeat and liver damage.
Then there’s the trend of inhaling smelling salts – popularized on TikTok by a company called Nose Slap – which can be toxic if used incorrectly or over long periods of time, and the lively PRIME energy drink, which has a caffeine content roughly equivalent to six cans of Coca-Cola.
A spokesman for TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. The platform lays out guidelines for tackling misinformation in its Community Guidelines, which it says are being enforced using a “combination of technology and moderation teams.”
“If fact-checkers determine that content is inaccurate and we believe it violates our policies, we may remove the video from our platform or block it from being featured in For You feeds,” TikTok’s policies read.
Wendy Stephan, an epidemiologist at the Florida Poison Information Center, said it makes sense that people would be drawn to such health trends. Prescription drugs can be expensive or scarce, she said, and people can’t always book a doctor’s appointment right away, so many are looking for quick, easy fixes.
Especially with TikTok, according to Stephan, the advice from the creators sounds plausible and is presented with funny pictures.
“If someone comes across as very personable and believable and says, ‘This worked for me and it’s great,’ I can understand people finding that appealing,” she said.
However, she emphasized that the creators behind fake health videos “also make money from these posts — they get a lot of exposure.”
And, of course, misinformation about personal health can be dangerous, Stephan continued.
“We have seen borax-related deaths. It’s very rare, but that’s a possibility. It’s not a harmless substance,” she said.
Johnson-Arbor said some social media trends are the result of a misinterpretation of scientific research. In the case of borax, some TikTok creators cited a researcher’s claim that boron is “an essential nutrient for healthy bones and joints.”
Health misinformation on social media often focuses on the same few topics, Johnson-Arbor said.
In addition to losing weight and improving your looks, “everyone wants to sleep better,” she said. “Everyone wants to live longer. Everyone wants less inflammation.”
Stephan said poison centers often post their own social media posts to combat misinformation, but “we lack the pull that many of these influencers have.”
So are most physicians, who lack the time and resources to counter dangerous viral trends.
But some have taken it upon themselves to speak up.
dr Meghan Martin, a pediatric emergency medicine doctor and health educator on TikTok, said she tries to use understandable, colloquial language in her videos where she warns users about misinformed trends.
“I also think it’s important to try not to attack people. I really want to be level headed and balanced and approach things in a non-judgmental and authentic way,” she said.
Carlo Ledesma, a medical lab professional who occasionally shares his expertise on TikTok, said he started seeing videos of people drinking borax earlier this year.
“Just please don’t take it!” He wrote a TikTok about it in April.
Warning about the possible consequences of borax felt like a necessary public service, he said.
“There are children in this app. There are parents who are watching but are not medical professionals,” Ledesma said, adding, “As medical professionals, we have taken an oath to protect the interests of the greater good.”