Ozempic 'Hacks' and Mouth Taping Fuel Nurse Alarm Over TikTok Health Myths That Could Harm Patients

More than half of adults turn to social media for health advice, and some of what they find could put them in danger. A 2025 Kaiser Family Foundation survey put the figure at 55 per cent.

Viral claims, from 'nature's Ozempic' to taping the mouth shut, spread on TikTok even when the science does not always back them. Nurse educators are training students to confront them before patients act.

Nursing Schools Adapt

Meghan Pontz, a nurse practitioner and professor of practice at Wilkes University's Passan School of Nursing, said the school is among programmes reshaping curricula. In one course, students make TikTok-style videos on a disease process.

'We're looking at our curriculum to make sure that we're weaving health literacy, media literacy and misinformation response directly into coursework,' Pontz said. These topics should not be a sidebar conversation in clinical practice, she added.

Mouth Taping Risks

Mouth taping, with more than 20 million views on a TikTok hashtag, is among the trends that most concern Pontz. Sleep doctors warn it is not evidence-based and may worsen sleep apnoea or pose suffocation risks, especially with nasal blockage.

A review published on 21 May 2025 analysed 10 studies involving 213 people. Only two showed improved sleep apnoea measures, while the other eight found no change or raised safety concerns, including choking risk with blocked nasal passages.

The studies were small, used inconsistent methods and were mostly low quality. Many excluded people with nasal congestion, and none examined long-term use, so safety remains unproven.

Risks include restricted airflow, worsened apnoea, panic on waking and skin irritation from adhesive. The most dangerous may be delayed diagnosis, because taping can mask symptoms and postpone testing.

Doctors say more than 25 million Americans have sleep apnoea and most do not know it. Mouth breathing can signal allergies or a deviated septum.

@rubin_allergy @Worthy Supps Does mouth taping have health benefits? #mouthtape #tiktokdoc #learnontiktok ♬ original sound - Dr. Rubin, MD

Safer Alternatives Exist

Doctors advise clearing the nose first, with saline sprays, allergy treatment or nasal steroid sprays such as fluticasone. Nasal dilators can also open the nostrils.

For obstructive sleep apnoea, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most commonly used treatment. It keeps the airway open during sleep and can improve symptoms and lower blood pressure in some people.

Spotting Unreliable Advice

Advice from medical professionals on TikTok should be treated with caution, Pontz said. Viewers should seek peer-reviewed research and established standards of care, and can check for a National Provider Identifier.

Red flags include cure-all claims and sponsored content. 'Nothing is a blanket statement in medicine,' she added, noting a garlic diet will not fix diabetes alone.

Ozempic Ad Pressure

Direct-to-consumer drug promotion, including Ozempic influencer posts, is changing clinic visits. Chief medical residents Lynne Rosenberg and Samantha Thielen at the University of Colorado Internal Medicine Residency Program examined whether the trend helps or harms.

Research cited by the residents found that between 7 and 33 per cent of patients in studies of direct-to-consumer drug advertising asked their doctors about advertised medicines. Many physicians report pressure to prescribe and say patients may overestimate a drug's benefit.

Rosenberg said some people making online drug claims have used the medicine or read about it, are not experts in its risks and benefits, and face no regulation. The FDA cannot require companies to correct such misinformation.

Thielen said patients like arriving with informed questions. The residents suggested physicians point patients to credible accounts such as the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The goal is not to tell patients to abandon social media. Nursing professors instead help students and patients question sources.