You’ve probably seen his face, exposing quackery like taping your mouth shut will help you sleep.
But TikTok icon Dr. Karan Raj, who has garnered millions of fans for his witty, snappy explainers, is one of the few trusted social media experts.
The Hampshire-based NHS surgeon, whose full name is Dr. Karan Rangarajan has shared thousands of videos online, tackling the endless stream of rogue health myths circulating the internet.
In captivating clips, the 33-year-old also explains the bizarre mechanisms of the body through detailed but easily digestible information.
His goal? Simple. Make people better informed about their health.
But TikTok icon Dr. Karan, who has amassed millions of fans for his witty, snappy explainers, is one of the few reliable TikTok experts
Dr. Karan started posting videos on YouTube in 2012.
Initially, he focused on giving practical explanations to students and medical professionals, covering topics about how a patient’s medical history and blood pressure can be used to remove kidney stones.
But in November 2019, he switched to TikTok to “reach and spread more public health information.”
At that time, millions of people were downloading the app, where short videos can be uploaded quickly and go viral.
And with Covid plunging countries into lockdown just a few months later, people were glued to their phones and more interested in health than ever before.
“I realized there was a growing epidemic of misinformation online, from the mildly bad stuff like ‘colon cleanses’ to the really awful stuff about vaccines,” Dr. Karan to MailOnline.
“So I realized this is an area that needs to be addressed.”
Doctors working in the UK must register with the General Medical Council (GMC), which protects patients by setting standards for students and doctors. It states that doctors must promote public health.
“I was like social media is essentially an extension of that. So you know, I’m doing my job as a doctor,” says Dr. Karan.
One of his early viral videos was a warning to those who put on gloves when they ventured outside during the pandemic. He filmed the clip after he just got off a night shift.
‘I made a video about why people shouldn’t wear gloves. You know, there’s been a huge increase in people, starting with the Covid pandemic, wearing gloves in the supermarkets, gas stations.
“I thought this was ridiculous, because they just transfer the germs and the gloves everywhere. And I made a video with my glove on and drew on it.’
Dozens of media outlets around the world picked it up and it was viewed hundreds of thousands of times.
“That’s what really highlighted to me the power of social media,” Dr Karan said.
More recent clips include claims that a squeeze of lemon juice can fight acid reflux, how to tell if you have an abnormal spectrum, and an explanation of a new pill that appears to kill cancer.
No medical topic is off limits to Dr. Karan, with videos on women’s health, neuroscience and gut health all featured on his channel.
Dr. Karan said, ‘I’m just really curious, so I’ve learned all these things.
“The videos you see are a reflection of my curiosity.
“If I find something interesting, I want to tell the public and hopefully they will find it interesting too.”
But while his videos have taken the wool out of the eyes of many of his millions of followers, Dr. Karan has seen first-hand how tricky it is to debunk some topics – with vaccines and Covid among the most controversial.
“The community of people who come up with a certain conspiracy or have a certain mentality, there is a certain psychology there, which is very difficult to change,” he said.
“There’s almost a certain delusion, and when someone has a delusion that’s very deep and deep in their own psychology, sometimes it’s very hard to change, even if you show them science that proves otherwise.”
He added: “There is more misinformation now than ever as more people access social media and the online spaces.
Dr. Karan began posting videos to YouTube in 2012 that were hands-on tutorials for students and medical professionals — covering topics about how a patient’s medical history and blood pressure can be used to remove kidney stones. But in November 2019, he switched to TikTok to “reach and spread more public health information”
“Sometimes people grow up in these little silos where they’re just stuck in their own echo chamber. And it propagates that disinformation.’
But it doesn’t discourage Dr. Karan, who believes he can “flip” pseudoscience and change some people’s views.
In one video, he explained the science behind Covid vaccines. In his own words, it was done’just very simple without being derogatory or condescending’.
“My approach is to give the science and then let people decide what they want.”
After posting the clip, Dr. Karan saw a thread on Reddit where someone had said they had gone from being an anti-vaxxer to getting the shot and recommending it to their friends.
“That’s the kind of ultimate end goal of what I’m trying to do, you know, change people’s minds and improve health from person to person,” he said.
But it’s not just the internet that’s fueling the rise of health disinformation.
Dr. Karan has encountered inaccurate insights about a large number of ailments in patients informed by well-known doctors.
One patient, who suffered from diverticular disease – when bulges develop in the lining of the colon – believed that if they ate seeds or nuts they would get stuck in the little sacs.
Dr Karan’s patient had read the “not true at all” health advice in a book written by a “very famous British ex-doctor, current pseudo-scientist, who is on the best-selling list,” he said.
“I tried to tell the patient, ‘The book you are reading is complete rubbish and what you are telling me is also incorrect,'” he said.
In the end, the patient accepted this after Dr. Karan was assisted by colleagues.
So (health myths) are everywhere. It’s not just in the online space, it seeps into the real world,” he said.
TV and breakfast show doctors are among the biggest culprits, either being misinformed or trying to tout something — like a book, course, or vitamins — as “disinformation is sexy and it sells,” Dr. Karan says.
When the medic is not working in an NHS hospital or posting on TikTok, he is often home to spend time with his English Mastiff, Shadow.
“I leave my weekends more or less unstructured. Maybe I’ll set aside an hour or two for videos and social media,” Dr Karan said.
“And basically that’s my interaction with social media. I don’t browse videos, I just go ahead and make a video and post it and then I’m out of there.”
The Referral, which launched in May, covered topics ranging from why women don’t have enough orgasms to the everyday habits that are destroying your gut health
He also enjoys sports, gardening, baking and sleeping.
Some research and medical practitioners are quashing the idea over fears that a siesta is linked to insomnia, diabetes, heart disease, and depression.
But Dr. Karan is a staunch advocate.
“People have this biphasic sleep pattern where we naturally experience dips in[energy]throughout the day” — around 10 p.m. and 1 p.m., he said.
That’s a perfect time for a nap. But you don’t want to take the nap too close to your bedtime because then you won’t fall asleep at night, which isn’t good.
‘Naps are proven by science to improve cognition, memory can also improve learning.
“So it’s scientifically proven — you have to have naps,” says Dr Karan.
Dr. Karan was born in Mumbai, before moving to Nairobi at the age of three, to Hong Kong at the age of four and to London at the age of five.
He attended Westminster School in central London, which charges up to £50,000 a year for boarding pupils and over £37,000 for day pupils.
A combination of excelling in science at school and hearing stories about his mother’s hospital services as a hematologist – a doctor who treats blood and bone marrow disorders – was the reason for Dr. Karan’s decision to become a doctor.
“I wanted to do something with my hands – solve a problem. And for me, surgery made sense. So my path almost crystallized as I grew up,” he said.
He studied medicine at Imperial College London for six years, organizing FIFA tournaments and playing cricket with friends alongside his studies, before joining the health service in 2014, where he now sees up to 15 patients a day.
Between juggling working for the NHS – he says he would never go private – and his social media accounts, Dr Karan has also found the time to start a podcast and write a book.
Launched in May, The Referral has covered topics ranging from why women don’t have enough orgasms to the everyday habits that destroy your gut health.
In an episode this week, he questioned fertility expert Dr. Helen O’Neill on the causes of infertility, the cost of egg freezing and the chances of getting pregnant with frozen eggs.
He’s also written This Book May Save Your Life—released December 28 by Penguin and available for pre-order—promising “potentially life-saving facts about the human body.”
“It’s a cocktail of my memories of medical school, time as a hospital doctor, as a surgeon, anecdotes from that,” Dr Karan said.
“But also debunking the medical myths I talk about online, interesting facts I’m always happy to share, medical history – which is another passion of mine – combined with health hacks and improving people’s lives.”