An 82-year-old Chinese woman was hospitalized after swallowing 8 live frogs to relieve persistent lower back pain, according to The Telegraph.

The retired woman, known only by her family name Zhang, followed a popular myth that eating live frogs can help treat pain caused by a slipped disc, according to local media reports.

Without informing her family of her plans, she asked them to help catch the frogs, all smaller than the palm of a hand, in September.

She swallowed 3 frogs immediately and the remaining 5 the next day.

Soon after, she began experiencing abdominal pain and was taken to the hospital where her actions were discovered.

Her son stated, “My mother ate 8 live frogs. Now, the severe pain has left her unable to walk.”

Doctors conducted a series of tests and confirmed she had a parasitic infection.

A doctor from a hospital in Hangzhou, eastern China, said, “Swallowing the frogs damaged the patient’s digestive system and caused some parasites to appear in her body.”

The doctors managed to treat Zhang, and she was discharged after two weeks.

Traditional Chinese medicine often involves using animal parts, including amphibians like frogs, snake bile, or salamanders, to treat various medical conditions. It is not uncommon for Chinese doctors to treat people who have consumed amphibians to improve their health.

Wu Zhongwen, another doctor from Hangzhou hospital, said he has treated many patients in similar cases, many of whom were elderly.

In 2018, a widely spread story told of a Chinese woman who ate 5 live frogs to treat rheumatism in her legs, only to have a giant tapeworm removed from one of her breasts shortly after.

In 2021, a man suffered a serious parasitic infection after eating 5 live frogs, believing they would give him strength after breaking two bones.

Wu explained, “We have received many similar patients in recent years… besides swallowing frogs, some individuals consume snake bile, raw fish bile, or apply frog skin to their skin.”

There has also been a trend of eating live frogs to treat skin diseases such as psoriasis and eczema, while many believe the giant salamander is an effective treatment for diseases like anemia and dysentery.