A NEW frog poison ritual that purges the body and makes you vomit, diarrhoea and sob is making it’s way onto the UK wellness scene.
And while celebrities and the public alike claim to have reaped profound health benefits, experts warn there are considerable dangers to be aware of.
Love Island star Georgia Harrison tried Kambo in 2021Instagram
Ferne McCann also tried the ritual, candidly documenting it on her YouTube channelRex
GettyKambô is harvested from the defensive skin secretions of the Amazonian giant monkey tree frog[/caption]
GettyThe ritual involves making superficial burns to the recipient’s skin, before applying Kambô to them[/caption]
GettyTraditionally, three to five small burns are made with a smouldering stick on the upper arm or lower leg of the recipient[/caption]
Reality stars Georgia Harrison, of Love Island, and Ferne McCann, of TOWIE, have candidly spoken about their experiences with the purgative ritual.
Indigenous practices have seen a huge boom in the West, from tripping on magic mushrooms to sipping cacao.
Although fairly new on the scene in the UK, the Kambô cleanse originated in Brazil thousands of years ago.
During the ritual, small burns are made on the skin before small amounts of a poisonous secretion that have been scraped off the back of the giant monkey frog/giant leaf frog are applied.
Still today, many indigenous groups use Kambô to maintain the health of their people.
But while they might refer to it as ‘medicine’, Kambô is not recognised as such in Europe.
Ferne, 33, said the experience – which she had documented on her ITVBe show in 2021 – was ‘not for the faint-hearted’.
She was “puking my guts up at the bright neon green sick”. But added: “It was so enlightening and just really freeing and gave me lots and lots of clarity.”
Not long after, Georgia documented her experience, including the treatment, on YouTube, in which her body involuntarily shakes and she cradles a bucket before violently vomiting.
After Georgia spoke of benefits including to her skin, ADHD and exercise, adding: “I don’t regret it. I feel I can breathe smoother, I feel like I’ve got more energy, I feel like I’ve got less aches in my body… I feel pretty peaceful.”
What is Kambô?
Back in the 1980s, Italian scientist and Nobel Peace Nominee Vittorio Erspamer (the man who discovered serotonin) became the first person to analyse Kambô in a lab.
He found that it contains what he referred to as a “fantastic chemical cocktail with potential medical applications, unequalled by any other amphibian”.
While research into Kambô is still limited, it has been found to contain unique pain-killing molecules including dermorphin.
The compound is 30 to 40 times more potent than morphine, but with less potential to produce drug tolerance and addiction due to its high potency, according to a Erspamer paper.
There is scientific evidence that Kambô can cause toxic hepatitis, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), and even death.
Edna Skopljak
However, dermorphin has never been approved for medical use in humans or animals.
It’s not always the pain-relieving properties which draw people to its use in the UK – it’s the possibility of the intense purging it can induce, which can come in the form of puking, shaking, sweating and, in some cases, pooping.
This, it’s claimed, can help rid the body and mind of toxins, energetically, physically and spiritually, producing a sense of clarity, stamina and alleviating anxiety and depression.
According to the indigenous peoples of South America, Kambô use can even bring in good luck and improve hunting skills, as well as fend off malaria.
Georgia said she won a game of Monopoly with friends despite “not knowing how to play” hours after her Kambô.
Some health professionals, on the other hand, are not convinced.
Is Kambô safe?
GP and medical advisor for the Health Reporter, Edna Skopljak, says: “Kambô can cause serious health consequences.
“These include loss of consciousness, dehydration, spasms, and muscle cramps.
“In addition, there is scientific evidence that Kambô can cause toxic hepatitis, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), and even death.”
Skopljak also stresses that certain health conditions increase the risk of serious side effects.
She says: “If a patient has cardiovascular disease, a history of stroke, epilepsy, Addison’s disease, or mental disorders, they can’t participate in Kambô ceremonies.
“Likewise, the poison is contraindicated for children, pregnant women, and infants.”
There have been four high-profile deaths reported as a result of Kambô use in the West, including 39-year-old Australian Natasha Lechner in 2019.
However, it has been argued that these tragedies occurred as a result of improper use – often combining the poisonous secretion with other substances, such as the psychoactive drink Ayahuasca.
This opinion is not enough to dissuade the rising number of individuals in search of well-being and spiritual enlightenment, though.
Kambô ceremony offerings, which are completely legal, have been popping up all over the UK over the past 10 years.
Despite experiencing what is commonly quite an unpleasant and challenging process, most people who take the plunge sing its praises.
There are now many self-appointed healers offering Kambô in the UK.
The International Association of Kambô Practitioners (IAKP) is a not-for-profit organisation that seeks to support and encourage the safe, responsible and professional use of Kambô.
They have created a four-year programme to train Kambô practitioners to the highest level and advise people only seek Kambô ceremonies in the UK held by practitioners who have completed this training.
For more information and a list of registered practitioners go to www.iakp.org/search.
‘I have felt amazing health benefits’
Dr Emma Cathcart, Chartered Counselling Psychologist, Kent
Emma CathcartDr Emma Cathcart, Chartered Counselling Psychologist, said she was wary of Kambo after her practitioner put her in danger[/caption]
“I met an Australian woman during my travels to Peru who had been trained in Kambô practice by the indigenous people.
“I’d heard of it before but didn’t know much about it. I wasn’t aware of the potential risk and she was emphatic about the health benefits, so I became intrigued enough to give it a go.
“She advised me to take part in three ceremonies within the lunar cycle, which is what I did.
“During the first session, I was given three dots on the traditional placement of my upper right arm. I also asked for a single dot to be placed on my forehead just below my hairline.
The fact that my practitioner who I had trusted put me in danger due to her lack of knowledge has made me wary of Kambô.
Dr Emma Cathcart
“I expected the effect to be instant, but it took around 10 minutes before I started to feel the purge coming.
“I could feel the energy of medicine working through my body and then I began to experience intense nausea.
“I was guided to drink two litres of water during this time, which is quite challenging, but apparently essential to help flush the toxins out.
“I was finally sick and after that, I was incredibly energised! It felt like a lifetime to get to that point, but the experience was all over in about 20 minutes.
“Amazingly, I had been sitting with a woman who really wanted children but hadn’t had a period for several months. By the time we returned to our accommodation, she had started to bleed.
“The second and third ceremonies were a few days apart. In the second sitting, I was given six dots along my spine from my neck to help heal my nervous system.
“This time, I experienced intense purging from all outlets. It was hard going and pretty unpleasant.
“Thankfully it was complete in half an hour, but I didn’t feel energised this time. In contrast, I felt quite tired, but I found that I ate and slept very well after.
“The third dose was the most challenging one, and it has left me feeling wary of using Kambô in the future.
“It was the day before my flight home and instead of me going to the ceremony space, the practitioner came to my hotel room. Despite having been through it twice already, I was nervous that day in a way I hadn’t been before.
“The practitioner told me she was going to place seven dots over my heart – something I later discovered is discouraged by the indigenous due to the risk of it causing a heart attack.
“Although my practitioner had been training with Kambô for several years, she had only just experienced dots over the heart for the first time and clearly wasn’t aware of how dangerous it could be.
“Like the other times, I experienced intense nausea and purging for half an hour. After that, I went straight to bed and slept for eight hours, woke up, ate and slept again.
“But before my flight the next day, I was struck down by extreme flu-like symptoms. Even though I’d had all that rest, I was still exhausted, so I slept for 40 minutes before the flight and when I woke the symptoms were gone.
“Thankfully, I was fine, but the intensity of it all and the fact that my practitioner who I had trusted put me in danger due to her lack of knowledge has made me wary of Kambô.
“But there’s no denying that I have felt amazing health benefits from it.
“I’m much more educated on it now, and I have a better understanding of how to choose the right practitioner.
“I’m looking forward to sitting with Kambô again, this time under the supervision of the indigenous.”
‘My pain vanished, I felt bliss’
Jay Woods, Caravan Park Manager, Wirral
Jay Woods, Caravan Park Manager, tried Kambo to address his chronic painJay Woods
“I was born with spina bifida and as an adult, this left me suffering with such painful sciatica I needed a walking stick to get about. I was living in constant pain.
“The conventional painkillers weren’t working for me, even opioids.
“So when I heard about a holistic healing festival taking place near where I was living, in Somerset, I decided to go along and see if anyone could help me.
“I met a woman who suggested I try Kambô so, knowing nothing about it, I skipped breakfast (we were told to fast) and signed up for the ceremony that afternoon.
All I could feel was immense surges, and immense waves of love, very innocent and pure.
Jay Woods
“It was held in a tipi, and it ended up being just me and my friend taking part.
“I was given seven small, painless burn marks on my skin down one side (which she called ‘gateways’) and instructed to drink two litres of water. Then tiny globules of liquid were applied to them with a bamboo stick.
“I instantly felt an intense rush of fiery heat through my body and then, my pain vanished, like someone flipped a switch.
“I focused on the energy of this new fire racing around my body and caught the mental picture of my aura being wrapped lovingly in the arms of a very gentle and very old wise frog spirit.
“It felt soft, warm, comfortable and cloud-like and all I could feel was immense surges, and immense waves of love, very innocent and pure.
“Then I started to laugh and I couldn’t stop! I felt such enormous relief.
“With each new wave of laughter, the immense pleasure of just being held by this energy I now had pulsing, firing, flowing throughout and all around my body was bursting out from my core.
“That night I felt amazing, in total bliss. But the next morning I woke up with the pain was was really bad on the side the practitioner hadn’t worked on.
“I went and found her and she explained Kambô needs to be taken to a two to three times before it works its magic.
“I signed up for her next ceremony a couple of weeks later and that was a very different experience.
“After the initial rush of heat, I passed out for a moment and then found myself purging violently out of both ends.
“It was very unpleasant, but afterwards, I felt like ‘psychic sludge’ had been expelled from my body. I was left feeling in less pain, but most importantly, full of hope.
“Since that first ceremony, I’ve used Kambô over 20 times and it has transformed my life and pain. I even went out to the Amazon to train to give it to others myself.
“It’s a potent medicine and offers a profound experience, but the fact it’s a wellness trend in the UK concerns me.
“This isn’t for everyone, and the indigenous know that. In the Amazon, you’re given Kambô if you genuinely need it, whereas here you can pay for a ceremony and get it just because you want it.
“In my opinion, this is where the real risk lies – our lack of understanding of this kind of substance and ritual in the West.”
YouTube/@thegeorgiaharrisonshow2203Georgia shared that the side effects of the ritual were ‘pretty savage’[/caption]