Recent social media trends across China have popularized a dangerous weight-loss method involving the mixing of external enema medications into tea beverages, prompting urgent health warnings from medical professionals and state media outlets, according to reports published in February 2024.
The Danger of Mixing Enemas Into Beverages
Content creators and influencers on platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu have shared videos demonstrating how to empty liquid glycerin or saline enemas—typically designed for rectal administration to relieve constipation—into milk tea and other beverages. According to reports from Chinese state media and medical associations, users believe this practice accelerates weight loss by purging the digestive system rapidly. Gastroenterologists and toxicologists have condemned the trend, noting that ingesting rectal medications orally or mixing them into food disrupts the gastrointestinal tract, causes severe electrolyte imbalances, and can lead to dangerous dehydration and chemical burns in the esophagus and stomach lining.
Regulatory Crackdowns on Dangerous Social Media Trends
Major Chinese social media platforms have begun removing offending videos, banning accounts that promote extreme weight-loss practices, and attaching warning labels to search terms associated with laxatives and enemas. According to statements from platform moderators, algorithms are now configured to intercept content encouraging unverified pharmaceutical uses for cosmetic purposes. Cyberspace Administration of China directives require platforms to aggressively target dangerous health misinformation that endangers public safety, particularly content directed at young demographics vulnerable to eating disorders and rapid-weight-loss marketing.
Medical Consensus on Safe Weight Management
Board-certified physicians and public health authorities emphasize that purging via enemas or laxatives does not result in sustained fat loss, but rather temporary water weight reduction and severe nutrient malabsorption. According to clinical guidelines from internal medicine specialists, artificial disruption of bowel regularity compromises natural gastrointestinal motility and can cause chronic laxative dependence, irritable bowel syndrome, and permanent damage to colon function. Experts recommend sustainable lifestyle modifications, including balanced nutrition and medically supervised physical activity, for long-term health management.