College Girl Dies After Following YouTube Weight Loss Advice In Madurai
Kalaiyarasi fell ill with vomiting and diarrhea after consuming borax and was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead.
Published : January 20, 2026 at 6:15 PM IST
|Updated : January 20, 2026 at 6:26 PM IST
Madurai: A first-year college student died after consuming a chemical substance for weight loss, following a remedy she had seen on YouTube in Tamil Nadu's Madurai district on Tuesday.
The deceased, Kalaiyarasi, studied in a private college in Narimedu and was a resident of Meenambalpuram in Sellur in Madurai. According to police, Kalaiyarasi, who was slightly overweight, had been telling her parents, Velmurugan and Vijayalakshmi, that she wanted to lose weight. Her parents would reassure her not to worry, saying her weight would decrease naturally. Kalaiyarasi watched a YouTube video titled 'Borax for weight loss' and bought borax (Vengaram) from a traditional medicine shop on January 16.
Subsequently, she consumed the borax as instructed in the video and soon started experiencing vomiting and diarrhea. Her mother took her to a private hospital in Munichalai for treatment.
However, upon returning home, Kalaiarasi complained of severe stomach pain and bleeding during defecation. Alarmed, the family rushed Kalaiarasi to the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai at around 11 pm. Doctors examined her and declared her brought dead. The body was handed over to the family after post-mortem.
Sellur Police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the incident.
Velmurugan, Kalaiarasi's 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 afterward, 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 doctors told 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.”
Shanmugam, a relative said, “No one should follow any medical advice based on YouTube videos. Awareness should be created among the public regarding this.”
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."
Also Read
