澳大利亚作家Hannah McElhinney的表妹Lauren因陷入社交媒体关于替代疗法的信息漩涡而最终丧生。[1]Lauren在16岁左右被诊断为慢性疲劳综合征，随后又被诊断为纤维肌痛症。[1]到2018年左右，她被错误诊断为慢性莱姆病，这一诊断导致她走上危险的替代治疗之路。[1]
在这个过程中，Lauren尝试了包括兽用伊维菌素、二氧化氯（漂白剂）、蜂蛰疗法和Gerson疗法在内的多种危险替代疗法。[1]2022年10月，Lauren前往马来西亚接受高温疗法治疗，最终在Johor Bahru医院死亡。[1]家人得知噩耗的方式令人悲痛——他们是通过Facebook陌生人的消息才了解到Lauren的去世。[1]
为了记录这段经历，Hannah撰写了《Wormhole》一书。[1]
Australian author Hannah McElhinney's cousin Lauren died during heat therapy treatment in Malaysia in October 2022, a tragedy that McElhinney has documented in her book Wormhole.[1] Lauren had initially been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome around age 16, followed by a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.[1] Around 2018, she was misdiagnosed with chronic Lyme disease, an error that set her on a dangerous path toward increasingly risky alternative treatments promoted through social media.[1]
Over time, Lauren experimented with a series of hazardous therapies, including veterinary-grade ivermectin, chlorine dioxide (bleach), bee venom therapy, and Gerson therapy.[1] In October 2022, she traveled to Malaysia to undergo heat therapy treatment, seeking yet another unproven cure.[1] Lauren died during the procedure at a hospital in Johor Bahru, with her family learning of her death only through a message from a stranger on Facebook.[1] McElhinney's account highlights the dangers of medical misinformation spread online and calls for greater attention and scrutiny from healthcare systems toward patients with mysterious chronic illnesses.[1]