A 60 -year -old man moved to the US emergency department, assuring that his neighbor was poisoning him. He had no history of mental illness, no chronic medical condition, and there were no recent tips. Nevertheless, within 24 hours, he was on hallucinations, paranoids and an involuntary psychiatry grip.

His case published in the enlightenment of internal medical clinical cases became a medical secret with an unusual criminal: bromide poisoning, or “bromism”, is more common than modern hospitals in the early 1900s.

Twist? He was following the advice, saying that he found through the chatter.

At first glance, nothing seemed clearly wrong. Their significant signs were stable, their neurological examination was normal, and standard tests showed no red flags, except for a strange discovery: extremely high chloride levels and a negative ions difference, an unusual pattern in blood chemistry.

He also had a curious mixture of low phosphate levels and metabolism alkaline and respiratory acidosis.

Early thoughts were toxicity, perhaps by heavy metals. But as doctors dug deeply, consulting with poison control, a rare possibility came out: pseudohaper circulimia caused by bromide in the blood.

Within one day of admission, his mental state deteriorated. He became more mad, reported to hear and see things that were not there, and even tried to leave the hospital.

The doctors started her on antisicotic medicine and continued to search for the source of their symptoms, taking her to a safe psychiatry unit.

Bromism: An explosion from the past

Bromism was once a famous toxidrome (symptoms suggesting a special type of poisoning or drug overdose). In the early 19th and 20th centuries, bromide salts were common materials in over-the-counter sedative, sleep AIDS and anxiety measures.

But chronic use made serious side effects such as psychosis, memory loss, shivering and strange skin, and bromism is considered responsible for more than 8% psychiatric entry into that era.

By the 1980s, bromide was phased out in most parts of the US and the world. Today, bromism is rare, but not impossible.

With the internet chemicals more accessible, topical cases have been re -manifested, often associated with dietary supplements or unconventional treatment.

Enter chatgpt

Once the man’s position began to improve with intravenous fluid and electrolyte replacement, more part of the story came out. He described months of fatigue, insomnia, subtle balance problems, acne and intense thirst.

He also accepted a highly restrictive vegetarian diet and an unusual personal experiment. After reading about the alleged damage of table salt (sodium chloride), he completely decided to cut the chloride from his diet. But instead of reducing salt only, they replaced it with sodium bromide purchased online.

The idea, he told the doctors, the chat asked about the option of sodium chloride.

Somewhere in the AI-reaction, somewhere, he explained that bromide could be swapped to chloride, although it was probably fully mentioned in a completely different context, such as industrial cleaning.

For three months, he consumed bromide daily, unaware of risks.

Science behind symptoms

Bromide ions can mimic chloride in the body, by reducing the level of chloride to standard lab equipment, therefore “pseudohaper circulimia.”

But unlike chloride, bromide accumulates in nerve tissue, how neurons function. Over time, it can cause parallel problems, hallucinations, confusion and coordination problems.

Their blood bromide level was a stunning 1700 mg/L – hundreds of times more than normal.

Fortunately, the bromism is reversible, if it is revealed quickly. After staying in a three -week hospital, his electrolytes became normal, resolving his psychosis, and he was able to come out of the drug. Two weeks after the discharge, he remained stable.

Caution: AI and self-medication

The case has held wide discussion about the risks of relying on AI chatbots for medical advice.

While equipment such as Chatgpt can be useful for general health education, they are not trained medical professionals. A 2024 study found that the version of the Chatgpt available in GPT-3.5, 2022, was correctly diagnosed with less than half the time of medical case.

The authors of the report warned that the AI can “promulgate decontaxulated information” – which means that it can present facts without the nuances or safety warnings given by a trained physician.

“It is not highly likely that a medical specialist may have mentioned sodium bromide when faced with a patient who is looking for a viable option for sodium chloride,” he wrote.

The man’s story is a rare reminder that is just that information is accessible online, whether a search engine, social media, or through AI Chatbot, it does not mean that it is safe to apply without professional guidance.