Complementary medicine chiefs have warned Britons to avoid an ancient healing ritual known as “kambo”, which involves the use of frog poison, after a Briton died during a ceremony in their London flat.
Those curious about the practice have been urged to stay clear of self-appointed shamans who promise to administer the treatment safely, despite it not having any backing in the scientific community.
The ancient ritual, which originated among tribes in the Amazon rainforest but in recent decades has started being practised around the world, commonly uses the dried skin secretions of the giant leaf frog and is carried out in a group setting known as a kambo circle.
The warning comes after wellness coach, Kristian Trend, a 40-year-old cancer survivor from Leicester, collapsed in his flat died after consuming kambo, which is also the name of the frog secretion, according to The Telegraph.
Since his death, the British Complementary Medicine Association (BCMA) urged people to use only qualified practitioners for any form of alternative treatment.
“You would not go to a doctor without checking they were registered, properly qualified and insured; the same follows for a complementary therapist,” it said.
“These questions are very reasonable and should not cause any problems for the therapist to answer and produce supporting information for. If any of these questions cannot be answered to your satisfaction, consider moving on to another therapist.”
The substance, which is harvested from the defensive skin secretions of the Amazonian giant monkey tree frog, was banned in Australia after some rare deaths of people taking part in “kambo” ceremonies, which involve a participant’s skin being burned or scraped and the Kambo being rubbed into the wound.
Kambo is often used for “purging” ceremonies, in which users are looking to release physical toxins, emotional baggage, or other negative energy.
It can legally be bought in the UK but is not a licensed medicine, and the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) does not regulate its use.
Mr Trend’s mother, Angie, told the outlet: “He was going to cleanse himself, that’s what he said to me. He was very spiritual. He took a lot of vitamins.”
“He recovered from Burkitt lymphoma cancer, which he nearly died from. That’s the worst part. He was in hospital for four months and got through that and for this to happen is just awful. It was his birthday the week after and I’d bought all these presents.”
The frog poison has been linked to several health issues such as seizures, liver failures and heart attacks.
“I do hope this is banned and nobody has to go through this devastating pain, but it can’t and won’t be me who campaigns for it. I have no fight left,” said Angie, whose son, died at a building in Queen’s Road, Leicester on 11 April.
“We are obviously heartbroken and realise going forward this is not going away anytime soon.”
The British Pharmacological Society (BPS) also issued warnings over the use of alternative treatments such as kambo, advising people to speak to licensed healthcare professionals before using any medicines.
“Many licensed medicines come from natural sources, but they are carefully tested for safety, quality and effectiveness before being approved for use. Safe prescribing depends on this evidence, proper clinical oversight, and an understanding of possible risks, side effects and interactions with other medicines,” it said.
“This is especially important where a product or treatment has not been assessed or approved by the MHRA, the UK medicines regulator, as unlicensed treatments may be harmful, interfere with prescribed medicines, or delay people getting the care they need.”