Need to know the answer for something or do a quick fact check? Google it!
We’re so used to turning to the search engine to answer everything from mundane facts to serious events and more, that not Googling something seems counterintuitive.
But apparently there is a list of words that you shouldn’t pop into Google – according to people who have searched for them, It’s Gone Viral (IGV) reports.
If you have a sensitive stomach, don’t read further. But if curiosity is your middle name and you want to know more, then here’s a look at the list of words IGV compiled, from a Reddit thread, that you shouldn’t search.
And remember, if you ever have concerns about your health, you should always consult a qualified medical professional – not Google or Reddit.
Larvae
The noun of larvae is larva, which according to the Oxford Dictionary is the “active immature form of an insect”. Sounds harmless enough. But that’s not why you shouldn’t be searching it. Apparently the search risk factor is that you could just stumble across a condition associated with larvae, called oral myiasis.
According to WebMD, “mouth larvae are parasites that hatch and live inside the oral cavities of human and animal hosts. These pests can cause a dangerous infection known as oral myiasis.”
WebMD goes on to say: “People can develop oral myiasis by eating larvae in their food. Flies can also enter the mouth and lay eggs in wounds.”
So now you know.
Degloving
This is one you shouldn’t search because the results, particularly the images, could be rather horrific to look at.
So, just what is it?
Well, according to WebMD it can also be known as avulsion, and they say it “happens when a large piece of your skin along with the layer of soft tissue right under it is partially or completely ripped from your muscles and connecting tissues”.
Ouch.
Krokodil
While this has different meanings in other languages, the one referred to on IGV is in relation to the opioid drug desomorphine.
As far back as 2013 Time magazine reported on it, with a headline saying: The World’s Deadliest Drug: Inside a Krokodil Cookhouse.
Time said that even before then, doctors in Russia had noticed “strange wounds” on some drug addicts, saying it was “patches of flesh turning dark and scaly, like a crocodile’s”.
It was then discovered they’d been injecting a new drug that was called ‘Krokodil’. Also reporting on the story in 2013, CNN’s story had the headline: Flesh-eating ‘zombie’ drug ‘kills you from the inside out’.
So yeah, those likely aren’t search images you want to look at.
Fournier
While many words have different meanings and usages, like Fournier, which is a French surname, there is also a darker side if you look hard enough.
Fournier gangrene can also refer to an “acute necrotic infection” of the genital area, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD).
It’s pretty serious, with WebMD cautioning: “Fournier’s gangrene gets worse quickly and can kill you, so it’s always an emergency”.
Harlequin ichthyosis
This is also sometimes called Harlequin baby syndrome or congenital ichthyosis, according to Healthline, which describes it as a “rare condition affecting the skin”.
They say the skin of a newborn with the condition is “covered with thick, diamond-shaped plates that resemble fish scales” and if on the face, it can be hard for the newborn to breathe and eat. As such, newborns with it need to be treated immediately. But they also say that medical advances have been made, meaning there is a more positive outlook for babies born with it.
