The incident occurred on Tuesday, leaving her family and the local community in shock. The deceased, Kalaiyarasi, was a student at a private college in Narimedu and resided in Meenambalpuram, Sellur. According to the Sellur police, the victim, who was slightly overweight, had been expressing concerns about her weight to her parents. Despite her parents reassuring her that her weight would decrease naturally, she decided to try a home remedy she had seen online.
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On January 16, she reportedly watched a YouTube video titled “Borax for weight loss” and purchased borax (locally called Vengaram) from a traditional medicine shop. She consumed the substance as instructed in the video, soon experiencing vomiting and diarrhoea, after which her mother took her to a private hospital in Munichalai for initial treatment. Upon returning home, the deceased complained of severe stomach pain and bleeding during defecation. Her family rushed her to Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai around 11 pm, where doctors examined her and declared her dead. The body was later handed over to the family after a post-mortem.
Following this, her father lodged a complaint at Sellur (Law & Order) police station on January 18. Based on the complaint, police registered a case and have begun an inquiry into the suspicious death, reports TNIE.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, her father said, “My daughter was worried about being overweight. She watched a YouTube video on weight loss and bought borax. I told her not to eat it and that she shouldn't consume anything without a doctor's advice. But she didn't listen and went ahead to follow the remedy shown on YouTube. Shortly afterwards, she fell ill, and we took her to the hospital. After discharge, we brought her home, but she started crying of stomach ache. We took her to the government hospital, but the doctors told us that she had already passed away. I would request youngsters not to take any medication without a doctor's advice. Whatever happened to my daughter should not happen to anyone else.”
A family member of the deceased mentioned that no one should follow any medical advice based on YouTube videos and that awareness should be created among the public regarding this.
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Dr Suresh of the General Medicine Department at Madurai Government Rajaji Hospital said, "Whether it is Allopathy, Siddha, Ayurveda, or Homeopathy, consuming medications without the advice of doctors in that field is extremely dangerous and can even become fatal," reports ETV Bharat.
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