{"id":1098187,"date":"2026-07-19T05:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T05:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1098187\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T05:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T05:51:15","slug":"birmingham-doctor-warns-against-harmful-tiktok-parasite-cleanse-trend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1098187\/","title":{"rendered":"Birmingham doctor warns against ‘harmful’ TikTok ‘parasite cleanse’ trend"},"content":{"rendered":"

A GP has dismissed TikTok’s<\/a> “harmful” ‘parasite cleanse’ craze which urges individuals to consume supplements or modify their diet to eliminate ‘worms’.<\/p>\n

The trend suggests that bloating, fatigue, abdominal discomfort, appetite fluctuations or skin issues could indicate the presence of internal parasites – and consequently prompts people to self-treat using wormwood, black walnut and castor oil.<\/p>\n

However, NHS<\/a> GP Dr Rupa Parmar warned the trend can actually be “harmful” – particularly if it remains uncertain whether they’re even suffering from parasites.<\/p>\n

Dr Rupa stressed that individuals should consult a GP immediately for expert assistance.<\/p>\n

Dr Rupa, medical director at Midland Health<\/a>, Birmingham<\/a>, explained: “‘Parasite cleanses’ are a good example of another unnecessary and potentially harmful social media trend.<\/p>\n

“There is no clinical evidence showing that these specific diet plans or herbal supplements are effective at eradicating parasites from the body.<\/p>\n

“There are real parasitic infections, and they do need proper treatment, but that treatment depends on the parasite.<\/p>\n

“There is not one single remedy that clears everything. That’s why I’d be very wary of any product claiming to ‘detox’ the body or flush out parasites without testing.”<\/p>\n

Dr Rupa outlined that symptoms people are being prompted to monitor are incredibly widespread and could stem from numerous different conditions.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the symptoms that might genuinely suggest a parasitic infection require attention from a healthcare professional, rather than home remedies. However, in the majority of instances, the symptoms are unlikely to stem from parasites.<\/p>\n

She explained: “If someone genuinely has symptoms that concern them, such as ongoing diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pain, unexplained weight loss, visible worms or eggs in the stool, or itching around the anus or genitals, they should speak to a medical professional rather than trying to treat it themselves.<\/p>\n

“A doctor can arrange the right tests, such as stool samples and blood tests. If a parasite is found, the treatment can be matched to the infection rather than guessed.”<\/p>\n

She outlined that the at-home remedies championed on TikTok are not only ineffective, but potentially dangerous.<\/p>\n

Dr Rupa stated: “The other thing to remember is that cleanses are not risk-free.<\/p>\n

“Herbal supplements can interact with medication. Not to mention, some ingredients can be harmful at higher doses, and restrictive diets can leave people short on nutrients.<\/p>\n

“So even if something is marketed as natural, that does not automatically make it safe or useful. “For most people in countries with good sanitation, intestinal parasites are not something they need to cleanse for routinely.<\/p>\n

“If there are symptoms, travel history, contaminated food or water exposure, or another reason to suspect infection, the sensible route is testing and targeted treatment.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A GP has dismissed TikTok’s “harmful” ‘parasite cleanse’ craze which urges individuals to consume supplements or modify their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1098188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,748,299768,393,4884,52715,299767,299771,299769,299770,449,16,15],"class_list":["post-1098187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-birmingham","tag-birmingham","tag-britain","tag-dr-rupa","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-herbal-supplements","tag-internal-parasites","tag-intestinal-parasites","tag-parasitic-infection","tag-parasitic-infections","tag-tiktok","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116945085160764167","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1098187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1098187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1098187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1098188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1098187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1098187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1098187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}