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Time of India
5 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Man consults ChatGPT for diet advice, three months later diagnosed with bromide intoxication: Know what it is and how serious it can get
A man decides to overhaul his diet, he's concerned about table salt (sodium chloride) and wants to eliminate chloride altogether. In comes ChatGPT, the AI advisor, suggesting a replacement… which ends up being sodium bromide. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He takes the advice, skips normal salt, and starts adding sodium bromide to his meals. Fast forward three months, and things go off the rails. He's in the emergency department (ED), experiencing full-blown psychiatric symptoms, paranoia, hallucinations, and all that. The has been published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine Clinical Cases. Diagnostics? His lab results are weird, his blood shows what looks like high chloride levels, but it's actually a false flag thanks to bromide messing with the measurements. Doctors look into it, hit up Poison Control, and land on bromism as the likely cause. In the hospital, he's thirsty and paranoid about drinking water, then starts hallucinating and tries to bolt out of the ward. That lands him in an involuntary psych hold, and he gets an antipsychotic along with fluids and electrolyte corrections. Slowly, things stabilize—his mental state clears, and he eventually admits he'd been following ChatGPT's recommendation. He also mentions other symptoms: acne, weird red skin bumps (maybe a hypersensitivity reaction), muscle coordination issues, fatigue, insomnia, and an unrelenting thirst—all pointing toward bromide toxicity. "This case also highlights how the use of artificial intelligence (AI) can potentially contribute to the development of preventable adverse health outcomes. Based on the timeline of this case, it appears that the patient either consulted ChatGPT 3.5 or 4.0 when considering how he might remove chloride from this diet. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Unfortunately, we do not have access to his ChatGPT conversation log and we will never be able to know with certainty what exactly the output he received was, since individual responses are unique and build from previous inputs," the researchers have said. "Thus, it is important to consider that ChatGPT and other AI systems can generate scientific inaccuracies, lack the ability to critically discuss results, and ultimately fuel the spread of misinformation. While it is a tool with much potential to provide a bridge between scientists and the nonacademic population, AI also carries the risk for promulgating decontextualized information, as it is highly unlikely that a medical expert would have mentioned sodium bromide when faced with a patient looking for a viable substitute for sodium chloride," they have warned. What is bromide intoxication ? Bromide intoxication happens when too much bromide — a chemical element related to chlorine — builds up in your body. Bromide itself isn't something you'll normally find in your everyday food in high amounts. Bromide can still sneak into your system from certain medications, supplements, or imported products. The problem is, your body doesn't get rid of bromide super quickly. It competes with chloride (yes, like in table salt) for space in your cells. When bromide sticks around, it starts messing with your nervous system. Common symptoms? They can be sneaky and wide-ranging — headaches, confusion, memory problems, dizziness, slurred speech, tremors, and in severe cases, hallucinations or psychosis. Because the symptoms are vague, people sometimes go months without realizing bromide is the culprit. How do people get it today? Old or imported sedatives that still contain bromide compounds Certain dietary supplements or 'detox' products that use bromide salts without clear labeling Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in some soft drinks (less common now in the US, phased out in the UK and Canada) Very rarely, exposure from industrial chemicals or contaminated water If you keep taking in bromide faster than your body can flush it out, it accumulates — that's when intoxication kicks in. Diagnosis usually involves blood or urine tests to measure bromide levels. But here's the catch: because bromide interferes with certain lab readings, it can look like you have a severe electrolyte imbalance when you don't. That can lead to misdiagnosis unless the doctor specifically thinks to check for bromide.
Time of India
09-08-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Man swaps table salt for toxic bromide after ChatGPT advice, lands in hospital with rare poisoning
What began as a seemingly harmless dietary tweak turned into a dangerous medical ordeal for a 60-year-old man. After reading about the potential harms of sodium in table salt, he became fixated on eliminating chloride from his diet. Seeking alternative options, he turned to ChatGPT for guidance. Diet experiment from ChatGPT lead to hospital bed According to his doctors, the man reported that the AI suggested bromide as a possible substitute. Without professional consultation, he replaced all sodium chloride in his meals with sodium bromide purchased online, a chemical compound long removed from over-the-counter medicines due to its toxic effects when consumed chronically. The comeback of a forgotten poison, thanks to ChatGPT Bromide was once a staple in sedatives and anticonvulsants during the 19th and 20th centuries. Overuse, however, led to a condition called bromism, a toxidrome marked by neurological and psychiatric symptoms, from confusion and memory loss to paranoia and full-blown psychosis. By the 1980s, regulators had stripped bromide from consumer medicines, making such poisonings rare. Yet, with online sales of bromide-containing products, isolated cases are resurfacing. In this instance, three months into his self-devised bromide diet, the man began experiencing paranoia, convinced his neighbour was poisoning him. Unravelling the symptoms Tests initially suggested elevated chloride levels, but further investigation revealed pseudohyperchloremia, a false reading caused by high bromide levels interfering with the lab analysis. Alongside paranoia and hallucinations, the man also suffered insomnia, muscle coordination issues, and extreme thirst. During his hospital stay, his paranoia worsened, leading to an involuntary psychiatric hold. Doctors began antipsychotic treatment while replenishing fluids and electrolytes. His condition improved over the next three weeks, and he was eventually discharged, stable and symptom-free at follow-up. A cautionary tale on AI health advice Medical experts noted that a qualified health professional would be unlikely to suggest bromide as a salt substitute. The case, published in Annals of Internal Medicine Clinical Cases, underscores the dangers of acting on AI-generated health advice without professional input. As the authors concluded, AI can bridge information gaps, but without safeguards, it risks promoting dangerous, decontextualised recommendations. In the age of instant answers, this man's story serves as a stark reminder: not every quick solution is a safe one.
