Experts warn of explosive bowel movements from viral TikTok saltwater flush trend

Health experts are warning against a viral TikTok trend where users are “flushing” their innards with saltwater, saying the fad could result in explosive bowel movements.

TikTok is home to a slew of viral trends and fads that have taken over the platform many times in the past.

Chief among these trends are health-related crazes — but not all of them are being well-received by experts, as seen in the app’s recent obsession with “butter boards.”

However, the latest craze to be scrutinized by health and diet professionals is the saltwater flush trend… and it could have some dire consequences.

The saltwater flush trend is, essentially, what it sounds like; it encourages users to drink salt water as a way to “flush” out the ‘sludge’ in their intestines.

In fact, some TikTokers claim the practice has helped them lose significant weight, with one user saying she lost 8 pounds in three hours from the cleanse.

TikTok’s viral saltwater flush trend gets backlash from experts

But health experts say this isn’t actually good for you. According to a report from the New York Post, professionals are arguing that saltwater flushes can result in less-than-desirable consequences… like explosive diarrhea.

Registered dietitian Abby Sharpe says these cleanses are “very dangerous for the masses” and even called them “napalm for your bowels.”

Sharpe says the concentrated salt from these cleanses draw “all the water into your bowels and blasts everything in its path out the other end” — essentially giving you a really, really bad time on the toilet.

That’s not all; she also claims that such cleanses can cause dehydration and a loss of electrolytes, something that tends to happen after a particularly stressful session in the bathroom, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Instead, professionals say that the body can flush waste out all on its own without the need for inducing a stomachache.

This is just the latest health-related fad to get pushback from experts after users started putting calamine lotion on their faces back in August.