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Getting to see your GP is difficult. Very hard. Actually, delete that. Getting to see any GP is difficult. Actually, delete that again. Making it to the surgery reception is a feat involving superhuman levels of cunning and stamina. Having risen from 37th in the phone line, can you face the crushing defeat of being asked to fill out an online consultation form only to find that the drop down box doesn’t have an option for your ailment?
Research published late last year indicated that only two per cent of GP practices were seeing all their patients within two weeks. Not surprisingly, when people cannot contact a professional to discuss their concerns, they take matters into their own hands and seek advice elsewhere.
Where once this Granny health advice might have been sought, these days the internet, and TikTok in particular, has stepped in. The problem, of course, is that, as The Mail on Sunday GP Ellie Cannon puts it, “it’s like the Wild West.” Online health and wellness advice is often nonsense, perpetuated by a growing ‘wellness’ industry (now worth around £20bn a year), while some of it is downright harmful.
Steve Boggan and Dr. Ellie Cannon debunk myths on TikTok about trends like at-home teeth whitening
“The main problem is lack of regulation,” says Gunter Kuhnle, professor of nutrition and food science at the University of Reading. “It is very easy to make sometimes absurd claims without having to provide any proof. Unlike medical professionals, who are very careful with promises and guarantees, the wellness industry tends to ignore this uncertainty and make rather bold claims.’
On the opposite page are six home health remedies currently popular on social networking sites, and the reasons from the experts why you definitely shouldn’t try them…
DIY TEETH WHITENING
Why would you?
It’s not just the doctors that people are fighting to see these days. They are also the dentists, and treatment prices have skyrocketed as many clinics have given up their NHS jobs to offer only private treatments. It’s no wonder patients turn to TikTok for dental advice.
Why you should avoid it
The main problem with the DIY version is that unskilled influencers confuse medical-grade products with household products of the same name. Dentists do not use regular bleach to whiten teeth, but safe, non-toxic concentrations of specially designed products. There’s a reason bleach carries toxicity warnings. However, the hydrogen peroxide teeth whitening hashtags are instant hits, with videos of young women reaching for 3 percent hydrogen peroxide and cotton swabs. A video showing a teenager doing this had over 15 million views and encouraged followers to repeat this for days at a time. Dentists say this risks swollen gums and overly sensitive teeth in the long run.
EAT RAW MEAT
Why would you?
The #rawmeat diet has a staggering 610 million views on TikTok. Influencers encourage viewers to take it, suggesting that it can keep your heart healthy and help you lose weight. A TikTok shows someone eating a raw steak (accompanied by a soundtrack of chewing noises), then dousing it with raw eggs.
The only weight you will lose on the raw meat diet will be from food poisoning.
Why you should avoid it
Honestly, the only weight you’ll lose on this diet will be cramps and diarrhea caused by salmonella or other bacteria in raw meat. This is not a weight loss recipe but food poisoning.
Also, raw meat has never been shown to keep your heart healthy. Cutting back on meat is a much better option in the long run.
DRINKING ‘RAW’ WATER
Why would you?
Raw carrots and sushi are good for you, right? But raw water? Perhaps it was inevitable that someone, somewhere (OK, California) would connect the dots and think that everything raw had to be better than cooked. In fact, ‘raw’ water is simply taken directly from springs, rivers or lakes. It contains, advocates argue, minerals, electrolytes, and probiotics filtered out by the treatment process, which helps combat anxiety, fatigue, and weight gain.
Why you should avoid it
“Drinking raw water is a lottery, with little chance,” says Dr. Katrina Charles, professor of environmental health risks at the University of Oxford. ‘Globally, around two billion people do it because they have no other choice, and they are the people most at risk of diarrhoea. The water is naturally polluted. Bird, rat, rabbit, cow, lizard, and human feces end up in the water on the ground or in rivers and lakes, and can carry diseases that will make humans sick. These include campylobacter, E.coli, norovirus, and giardia. While these pathogens will mostly cause diarrhea, they kill people and also cause chronic illness.
USE OF CALAMINE LOTION AS A MAKEUP BASE
Why would you?
People with blemish-prone complexions worry about wearing makeup in case it blocks pores and exacerbates blemishes. One TikTok star’s advice has been to cover your face with calamine lotion before putting on your makeup.
Why you should avoid it
Dr Ellie Cannon says: ‘I see a lot of children with chickenpox. I usually tell parents to use a good old fashioned calamine lotion: rub it into the stains and wait. But in the last few months, it’s become apparent that no parent can get their hands on calamine lotion, so they turn to me for an alternative. Thank you Tik Tok! If you search for #calamine on the site, you’ll find videos with millions of views of the lotion being used as a base for makeup. The thick pink liquid locks out all moisture and air. If you use it daily on your face, you will remove moisture from the skin, irritate it thanks to its phenol ingredient, and worsen rosacea, eczema, or blemishes. Calamine is a medicine, not a makeup. And now my poor chickenpox patients can’t get it for their spots!
SENNA TETAXING
Why would you?
Search for #teatox on TikTok and you’ll find Getty Images with over 5.1 million views from bloggers and influencers claiming that teatox can help you lose weight, get a flatter tummy, and reduce bloating. Many ‘weight loss’ varieties contain senna, a natural laxative.
Why you should avoid it
In 2017, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) ordered a post of ‘Flat Tummy Tea’ by Geordie Shore star Sophie Kasaei to be removed. According to the ASA, the manufacturer, Nomad Choice, “had no scientific data to support its claims that the ingredients in the tea could help with water weight loss.”
In fact, according to Professor Kuhnle, ‘Using laxatives without medical supervision is potentially dangerous: it can lead to constipation and is also associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer.
‘A particular concern is the active compounds, the sennosides, in senna that could be potentially genotoxic and carcinogenic. There is no need to “detox” or “cleanse” as the body is quite capable of doing this on its own.’
VAGINAL STEAM
Why would you?
The ‘V steam’ craze was first reported in the US in 2010 and later promoted by Gwyneth Paltrow on her wellness website Goop. According to Harper’s Bazaar, Paltrow recommended vaginal steaming with a blend of herbs and aromatics “to rebalance female hormones and achieve the super-clean uterus she’s always wanted.”
Her popularity was fueled by social media, most notably an Instagram post of model Chrissy Teigen sitting on top of a steaming box, with the words “Steamy Vagina”. No, I don’t know if any of this works, but it can’t hurt, right?
Women turn to it to deal with irregular periods, hormonal bloating, and menstrual cramps.
Why you should avoid it
In 2018, the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Canada reported on the case of a 62-year-old woman who suffered second-degree burns while getting her vagina wet. In the UK, Dr Leila Frodsham, Consulting Gynecologist and Spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG), says: ‘Vaginal steam is not recommended by the RCOG. This treatment is not medically necessary and may cause harm.
“There is no evidence to support the use of vaginal steam, and this treatment can increase the risk of infection, as well as being expensive. Vaginal steam can upset the natural balance of bacteria and pH levels in the vagina. This can cause irritation and inflammation, and lead to infections such as bacterial vaginosis and yeast infections.