China woman lands in ICU after swallowing raw fish gallbladder to cure headache

A China woman was hospitalised after she consumed fish gallbladder as medicine for headache (Pic for representation)

A 50-year-old woman from eastern China was rushed to the intensive care unit after consuming a raw fish gallbladder, believing it would relieve her headache, a decision that nearly proved fatal.

According to a report in South China Morning Post, the woman, identified by her surname Liu and a resident of Jiangsu province, followed a widely circulated folk belief that raw fish gallbladders can “clear heat”, detoxify the body and ease migraines. She had been suffering from a persistent headache and turned to the traditional remedy for relief.

On the morning of December 14, Liu purchased a 2.5-kg grass carp from a local market. After returning home, she removed the fish’s gallbladder and swallowed it raw. Within two hours, her condition deteriorated rapidly. She began vomiting, developed severe diarrhoea and complained of intense abdominal pain. Alarmed by her symptoms, her family rushed her to a hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with fish gallbladder poisoning and acute liver failure.

As her condition worsened, Liu was transferred to the ICU at the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University. Doctors immediately initiated emergency treatment, including plasma exchange therapy and continuous renal replacement therapy, a form of slow blood purification used in critical cases.

After five days of intensive care, Liu’s condition stabilised and she was discharged from the hospital. The hospital publicly disclosed the case on January 7.

Commenting on the incident, doctor Hu Zhenkui warned that fish gallbladders are “even more toxic than arsenic.” He said that ingesting just a few grams can cause serious poisoning, and gallbladders from larger fish, particularly those weighing over five kilograms can be deadly, the publication reported further.

According to Hu, fish gallbladders contain potent toxins that severely damage the liver and kidneys, potentially triggering acute organ failure. In extreme cases, the toxins may also lead to shock, brain haemorrhage and death.

He further cautioned that cooking the gallbladder or soaking it in alcohol, practices some believe make it safer or more nutritious, does not neutralise its toxicity.

The hospital reportedly urged the public to stay away from unverified folk remedies and warned against equating bitterness with medicinal value.