Adverse Reactions to Parasite Zappers

Look online and you'll find no shortage of electric "zappers" aimed at killing parasites, bacteria and viruses. Most sellers claim their devices are in keeping with the work of Dr. Hulda Clark, whose published work maintains that most disease agents can be killed by the use of particular electric current frequencies. Zappers claim to deliver the electric pulses Clark named. Zappers have been shown to cause adverse reactions for some, however, and in all cases they are clinically ineffective.

Pacemaker Problems

• People with pacemakers should not attempt to use a zapper. The electrical impulses from the zapper can interfere with electrical impulses from pacemakers and create malfunctions. A broken or dysfunctional pacemaker can lead to heart arrhythmias, which can be fatal.

Effects

• Sellers of zapper products claim their products have no side effects. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, aside from the pacemaker issue, this is probably true. That's because the FDA maintains zappers have no clinical effectiveness and are a complete hoax. In reality, they do little harm or good.

Hoax

• According to a Quackwatch article by Dr. Stephen Barrett, M.D., Dr. Hulda Clark held a Ph.D. in zoology and was never a medical doctor. She also was arrested for practicing medicine without a license. Barrett also reported that in several cases, Clark diagnosed patients with non-existent varieties of parasites. Both Barrett and the FDA maintain that Clark lacks any clinical backing and that electricity currents do not cure diseases in humans, including parasites.

FDA Ban

• In 2001, the FDA entered a joint project with the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on sellers and importers of products making false and dangerous health claims. As part of Operation Cure.All, the FDA banned the sale of zappers in the United States and went after companies -- including Internet-based sellers - whose advertised claims it considered irresponsible and false.