Drinking borax helps inflammation and joint pain

Question

This claim was made due to an internet trend that started up in the summer of 2023. There was in influx of people on social media providing the misinformation that drinking borax could help medical ailments such as inflammation and joint pain. This claim is obviously false, as borax is a chemical toxin, and can be deadly if ingested. The original poster of the account does not seem to be spreading this information with bad intention, but it is a dangerous narrative. I looked this trend up and found that it made its way onto many different news sources to advise people to stop. 

Article from NBC News

Article from Healthline News

Article from Medical News Today 

Comments

This claim is a little jarring at first because of the chemical borax in itself however after seeing your sites etc. I am very impressed by all of the linked material and how credible they are along with your paragraph attached disclaiming how it can be harmful I found that very professional and helpful. Overall great job!

---

I knew as soon as I read the claim that people think Borax can help with inflammation and joint pain, that it was false. Obviously Borax is a poison and is classified as such along with it being a chemical. Great use of sources with some of the highest trustworthy and truthful websites.

---

I agree with your fact check.  It’s scary how misinformation like this can spread so quickly. Borax is toxic and should never be ingested. It's good you found reliable sources like NBC News and Healthline to back up your findings.

---

While your claim was very well done along with strong supportive sources, I do not understand why the title claim is the completely opposite. The claim clearly described the situation, the background story, and the reasoning. The four attached sources each served a different purpose. The two news reports provided the true facts about drinking borax and the negative influences of social media, and the source about the uses and risks of borax helped to point the reader the correct direction to do more research. And the TikTok source represented the false information spread by social media.

---

Borax is very toxic and harmful to consume and the trend spread on social media of consuming borax, and people believed it. This statement has good sources to back the evidence of how social media is able to spread misinformation rapidly and get users to believe it.

Answer 1

The claim proposed of drinking borax helps with inflammation and joint pain is completely false. While reviewing the TikTok of the woman that claims borax help cure joint pain, it doesn't necessarily look like it would work for everyone. Seen as though borax is a harmful chemical containing sodium tetraborate, sodium borate, or disodium tetraborate which is used for cleaning products and laundry detergent, for example. According to WEBMD "It can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea if ingested and if you take large amounts it can lead to kidney failure and shock". Upon further research about the claim NBC News reviewed the topic of interest and debunk it's claims. A toxicology physician, Johnson-Arbor said, "There's really nothing to support the use of borax in humans for inflammation or reduction of oxidative stress or anything like that" (NBCNews). Taking it from a toxicology physician is more useful than a Tik Tok of a woman that claims borax helps just from personal experience. In another article that I found from RMIT University's website, they go over the claim. They debunk this claim as well saying "Borax, a mineral compound chemical often used in laundry detergents, is not safe to ingest. The chemical is classified as a poison and can be toxic to humans" (RMIT University). These three articles that I reviewed is enough to debunk this claim. While I don't think the woman in the video intended to harm anyone it does contribute to false claims that should be looked into more heavily when it comes to health concerns. 

https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/borax-sodium-tetraborate

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/drinking-borax-tiktok-trend-medical-authorities-debunk-rcna95526

https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/factlab-meta/online-trend-of-drinking-toxic-borax-is-dangerous

Comments

I totally agree with you that I don't think the author intended to harm anyone but when it comes to health issues things like this should be taken more carefully and further investigated. If not, then it leads people to believe that something that is actually harmful is not. Claims like this can spread very fast especially on social media with little to no proof other than just personal experience.

---

I like how you provide multiple quotes from different sources to prove why you believe this claim is false.

Answer 2

This claim is false. Ingesting borax does not help with inflammation and joint pain. The original post was a TikTok posted by a woman named Jasiel, and her last name is not revealed. Her TikTok account included a link to her LinkTree account, which had multiple pages of medical and herbal resources. After looking into some of the pages she had on her LinkTree, a lot of them were blogs from other Internet users giving advice and sketchy online shopping pages. The red flag here is that they're not verified or supported by major health organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control, the American Medical Association, or the World Health Organization. If the resources that she's sharing with her audience are not reliable, it is unlikely that the content and advice she creates for her audience are reliable too.

From the medical aspect, drinking borax is not advised and is toxic to the human body. According to a medically reviewed vertically published on Medical News Today, "borax can be harmful and may cause many serious side effects." The potential risks of ingesting borax include diarrhea, shock, vomiting, and death. Borax is a household cleaning product that is not meant to be ingested.

Sources:

https://www.tiktok.com/@jasiel11111/video/7249490827456777518?_r=1&_t=8jpdhvAePHf

https://linktr.ee/jasiel1111

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324167

Comments

This is a very thorough and well written fact check. I like how you included multiple sources and included a quote from a medical professional.

---

What is a "medically reviewed vertically published" that you are referring to? Did you go directly to that article/journal to verify that Medical News Today extracted accurate information?

Answer 3

This claim is false. It started from an internet trend on TikTok where people have been putting a pinch of Borax in their drinking water as they claim it helps with inflammation and can reduce joint pain. However, according to the National Capital Poison Center, "Borax is not intended for human consumption, and may cause toxic effects when swallowed, inhaled, or applied to the skin." They also state that their is minimal evidence that supports the use of Borax for reducing inflammation. 

Sources: 

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/drinking-borax-tiktok-trend-medical-authorities-debunk-rcna95526  

https://www.poison.org/articles/can-borax-treat-inflammation

Answer 4

This claim is false. People on TikTok have claimed that adding borax to your water will reduce inflammation, help joint pain and detoxify the body. A toxicology physician states, "Borax can cause stomach irritation and potentially result in blue-green vomit or diarrhea if ingested. Over time, it can cause anemia and seizures, she said, and that soaking in borax could cause rashes that make the skin appear as bright pink as a boiled lobster and start to fall off," (NBC News). 

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/drinking-borax-tiktok-trend-medical-authorities-debunk-rcna95526#

Answer 5

Borax does not help with inflammation; the claim is that borax helps with inflammation and joint pain. According to NBC News, the trend started on TikTok; users suggest that a pinch ofwater to help wi borax should be added to their th the inflammation or take a borax bath to "detoxify" the body. Dr. Kelly Johnson-Arbor warns people of the possibility of stomach irritation, vomiting, or diarrhea. Long term, it can cause anemia and seizures. Taking a bath in borax can cause skin rashes, making the skin appear bright pink and lobster-like before it peels off. "There’s really nothing to support the use of borax in humans for inflammation or reduction of oxidative stress or anything like that," Johnson-Arbor said. This claim is false. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/drinking-borax-tiktok-trend-medical-authorities-debunk-rcna95526

 

Answer 6

This idea is false and misleading. WHile one of the main ingredients is used to treat inflammation, Boron, the actual substance of Borax is unsafe. Boron is an ingredient but there are many other chemicals used in the cleaning substance Borax that are not safe for consumption. The cleaning product is not made for human consumption and should not be eaten.

https://www.poison.org/articles/can-borax-treat-inflammation

Comments

Going forward, the fact-check would be stronger if you cite your source within the fact-check. For instance: "According to poison.org, the claim is false because it is not made for human consumption and boron as well as other chemicals are harmful if ingested."

Answer 7

This claim is definitely false. Many sources (Listed at the end of my answer) indicate that drinking borax is harmful to your health. The article on Lybrate indicates why some of these misconceptions might've started in the first place. According to the article, people believe that Boron can help with health issue such as arthritis, sores, swelling, menstrual issues, and more. Because Borax is Boron, people believe drinking Borax will provide the health benefits. The claim originated from tiktok videos of gurus trying to share a new health hack/tip with their audience.

https://zoe.com/learn/why-are-people-drinking-borax

https://www.lybrate.com/topic/borax-benefits-and-side-effects

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/drinking-borax-tiktok-trend-medical-authorities-debunk-rcna95526

Answer 8

This answer provided a lot of trustworthy sources. It was smart to mention that this claim started as a trend in 2023. That was a while ago and it is irrelevant. It is ridiculous that someone would put this claim out there, as it is a deadly toxin.

Answer 9

I really appreciate the number of sources you used it makes it easy to follow the claims and debunks.

Answer 10

The claim that borax helps inflammation and joint pain is absolutely false. This claim started in tok tok and created a trend. This is dangerous misinformation because borax is toxic to consume. It was confused with an element called Boron, which does help inflammation, but is not even close to what borax is. According to Poision control Borax is not safe to consume. 

https://www.poison.org/articles/can-borax-treat-inflammation