The travel blogging and content creator group Tuk South tries Jimerito Honey, an indigenous, Central American eye cure.
While indigenous medicine has significantly advanced modern pharmacology, it also features plenty of traditional treatments that you definitely shouldn't try at home. One that fits squarely into this category is the introduction of raw honey into the delicate ecosystem of your eye. Although common sense forbids it, the four friends of Tuk South have experienced the honey treatment firsthand in Colombia's Sierra Nevada rainforest.
Where the Honey Comes from
The honey that the group tries comes from Jimerito bees: stingless bees from the tribe Meliponini that produce a rare and valued honey used in traditional folk medicine. Native to the tropics, they need frost-free winters to survive. To see these insects in the wild, Tuk South visits a local beekeeping school led by the Arhuaco people in northern Colombia. After their first taste, the content creators universally praise the honey's distinct flavor, stating: "Oh my word. That's rico!"
A Home Remedy?
While the honey itself is wholesome and nutritious, local tribes do not simply regard it as part of their diet. Instead, they see it as a folk remedy that can treat ailments as varied as cuts, upper respiratory congestions, and eye infections. To immerse themselves into the local culture, the four friends try the honey eyedrops. The procedure is extremely simple: a woman puts honey into their eyes using a pipette, while they experience the fallout. The video clearly shows that every member of the content creator group experiences an intense foreign body sensation, accompanied by severely irritated eyes.
Although their reaction should be interpreted as a word of warning, several influencers have advocated the honey eyedrop trend and made dangerous health claims: some assert that a single drop of honey dissolves eye floaters, while others go as far as stating that it can cure severe medical conditions like cataracts. The viral spread of these misleading videos has led optometrists and health institutions to post reaction videos warning the public about severe medical consequences.
Although the four friends of Tuk South got lucky, the honey could have permanently damaged their corneas, turning the self-experiment into a dangerous undertaking.
What do you make of this? Is there something to the ancient honey trend, or is even the sterilized medical version pure marketing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
