Experts issue warning against 'frog poison' detox as 40-year-old man dies from growing trend
Kit Roberts
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Health experts have issued a warning against the practice of using tree frog poison in ceremonies.
It comes after the death of a Kristian Trend, 40, in the UK after participating in the practice, though a cause of death has not yet been officially confirmed.
The practice, which uses a substance called kambo, originates with several communities in the Amazon Basin, where it is used as a folk medicine as well as ritual practice.
Indigenous practitioners who use kambo have warned against people using it without the knowledge and permission of these communities, including Yamanawa leader Joaquim Luz, who criticized sale of the substance online.
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It involves using a hot stick to burn holes in the skin, causing a blister.
Poison from a Giant Tree Frog is then applied directly to the wound, producing limited effects of the poison.
Aside from its origins in indigenous Amazonian communities, the practice has since spread into the alternative medicine market despite restrictions in Brazil and Chile on the sale of the substance.
Professor Penny Ward is an expert in pharmaceuticals at King's College London, and warned of the potential dangers of engaging in the practice, adding that there are currently 'no proven health benefits'.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, she said: "While there has been medical interest in a number of the peptides produced in the skin secretion, there are no proven health benefits for any of these at present."
She added: "In contrast there have been multiple case reports of a range of toxicities and several deaths in users across multiple countries.
"Making sure the general public are made aware of the dangers of this substance may stop people seeking to use it."
It is believed that the ceremony 'purges' the body after the ceremony, with the intended effects including vomiting and a higher heart rate.
Kristian, who had recently survived cancer, is thought to have collapsed at his home after taking the substance, and his mom Angie told The Telegraph that he had become more spiritual and had a desire to 'cleanse himself'.
In 2020, a research paper published on the practice examined the case of a 41-year-old woman who became unresponsive and had shallow breathing after administering the poison.
She was taken to hospital, where she spent three days on a ventilator.
After recovering from the immediate symptoms, she then started to experience frightening hallucinations of people and animals which required further treatment including a week of intensive intervention before she was discharged.