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Latest TikTok trend to ignore… The ‘mucus fishing’ or mucus fishing! This is the latest phenomenon that has gone viral on the Chinese social network. It consists of removing the dirt that can accumulate in the corner of the eyes when they are irritated… This unattractive practice has already caused many health professionals to react.
Sensitive souls refrain ! Far removed from the beauty tips that we are used to observing on the social network, as wacky as they may be, the hashtag currently buzzing on TikTok, #mucusfishing, may offend some people. The latter refers to a multitude of videos featuring eyes in (very) close-up. Nothing that makes you want to continue exploring, but the worst is yet to come…
An astonishing fascination
Users actually go behind the scenes of a beauty routine (which isn’t really a beauty routine) that should in theory interest no one. It’s about removing mucus, understanding what users consider dirt, from the eye with a cotton swab, or even worse, from the fingers.
On the one hand, these videos can cause gagging, but on the other hand, it is the practice itself that raises questions!
A counterproductive activity
“Mucus fishing” as defined by the TikTokeurs themselves would be a response to a purely aesthetic problem. People with irritated eyes who believe that this “dirt” does not rhyme with an irreproachable make-up. But many health professionals, between ophthalmologists and cosmetic surgeons, have already expressed their surprise – and their incomprehension – at the scale of the phenomenon. It must be said that the hashtag “#mucusfishing” has accumulated more than 7 million views to date.
the Dr. Anthony Youn, a cosmetic surgeon based in the United States, released a video to comment on the practice, explaining that the more mucus is removed the more it tends to come back, sometimes in greater quantities. A post viewed over 6 million times.
A significant risk of infection
Other health professionals have mobilized to let users know that the practice could increase irritation and be the source of other infections, the mucus containing protective substances.
Beyond even inflicting images that most users would have done without, followers of “mucus fishing” would therefore have every interest in turning to new practices, more attractive and less harmful to their health.