A 'natural' herbal extract leaving some people with 'alligator skin' is being linked to numerous deaths.
The mum of Jordan McKibban issued a warning after the Washington resident, 37, collapsed and died in his bathroom in 2022.
Pam Mauldin said her son died from taking Kratom products after an autopsy revealed a compound in the substance called mitragynine, reports the New York Post.
Kratom is a herbal extract from the leaves of Mitragyna speciosa, an evergreen tree that grows in Southeast Asia.
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People chew the leaves, swallow dry leaf powder, brew them as tea, or use concentrated extracts/liquid forms for various health benefits, which include lifting mood and pain relief, according to May Clinic.
Beside six states where it is banned, Kratom is available online and in petrol stations in the US, whereas in the UK, it is not allowed to be sold legally.
Matthew Eller was just 22 when he died from taking the 'gas station heroin'.
“When he moved out of my house in 2020, I found empty kratom packets with price stickers of over $20 on them, which explained why he was always broke despite having a good job,” his mum Susan told The Sun.
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“He said he used kratom for energy, and said it’s like coffee. I looked it up online, but at that time, it was almost all positive information. Matthew nor I had any idea it could kill him.
"My son’s toxicology reports show he died from kratom alone - no other substances nor underlying health conditions.”
Kratom side effects
Mum-of-three Raylee Reinhart, who took daily shots of the substance, reportedly started to develop 'alligator skin'.
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“At one point, I had numb, tingly hands,” she added to The Sun.
“My skin had these weird rashes all over it. I had super dry, flaky skin… it was gross.
“I [also] lost probably 30 pounds.”
The casino worker, 30, from Montana, completed alcohol abuse treatment in 2023 and started taking the substance as an alternative.
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She ended up spending £2,000 per month on up to 10 shots a day.
“My boyfriend would say, ‘every time you get out of the shower, there’s a huge clump of hair in the drain,’” she said.
“And it got worse. I lost more than half of my hair.”
Mayo Clinic state that 'kratom hasn't been shown to be safe or to treat any medical conditions'.
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"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned people not to use kratom because of possible harm it can cause," they explained.
"The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration calls kratom a drug of concern.
"Poison control centers in the United States received more than 3,400 reports about use of kratom from 2014 through 2019.
"These included reports of death. Side effects reported included high blood pressure, confusion and seizures."
Topics: Health, Mental Health, Drugs, US News, Science
Anish Vij