There are several terms or phrases that are often suggested as ones you “should never Google” due to the potential for encountering disturbing, graphic, or misleading content. Below is a list of such words/phrases along with explanations of what might happen if you search them:
Larvae : Searching for larvae can lead you to images and information about insect larvae, which might not be pleasant for everyone, especially when they relate to medical conditions like oral myiasis, where mouth larvae are parasites
Degloving : This term refers to a serious injury involving the separation of skin from the flesh beneath it, and searching it will likely bring up graphic images and descriptions
Botfly removal : Similar to larvae, this search may result in finding videos or images depicting the removal of botflies from human or animal tissue, which can be quite distressing
Fournier While Fournier is a popular French name, it can also refer to an ‘acute necrotic infection’ of the genital area, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD). WebMD warns: “Fournier’s gangrene gets worse quickly and can kill you, so it’s always an emergency.”
Krokodil While Krokodil may sound like crocodile, you won’t see anything near the reptile if you search that on Google Images – so beware of any typos when searching for crocodile images! Instead, what you’ll be shocked to discover is that Krokodil has different meanings in different languages.
However, the particular definition defined in the It’s Gone Viral report refers to the opioid drug desomorphine. A Time magazine report from 2013 dubbed it as ‘The World’s Deadliest Drug’.
It started when doctors in Russia discovered ‘strange wounds’ on many drug addicts. Later, it was discovered that they’d been injecting a new drug known as ‘Krokodil’. This was later dubbed as a ‘flesh-eating zombie drug’ in a report from CNN.
Definitely not the type of visuals you want your eyes to witness, right?
Harlequin ichthyosis The final word you should avoid Googling is Harlequin baby syndrome, also known as congenital ichthyosis. Healthline defines this as a ‘rare condition affecting the skin’, which is a ‘type of ichthyosis, which refers to a group of disorders that cause persistently dry, scaly skin all over the body’. The site clarifies further that the skin of a newborn with this condition is ‘covered with thick, diamond-shaped plates that resemble fish scales’.