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Low reported severity Media Coverage

Influencer says ChatGPT recommended a pharmacy cream for dermatitis that burned the influencer's face

A content creator and singer said in an Instagram video in June 2026 that, during a flare-up of dermatitis brought on by stress and anxiety, they asked ChatGPT for a solution and it said a cream would help clear the dermatitis quickly. The influencer bought the cream at a pharmacy, applied it without consulting a doctor, and showed red, burned-looking skin on the forehead, cheekbones and nose, saying 'my face burned' and that they wanted to cry. The influencer said they had later realised the cream was dangerous for the face and stopped using it, and urged followers to consult health professionals. A day later the influencer reported slow improvement with professional help and a visit to a dermatologist, and later denied rumours of a lawsuit against ChatGPT. The cream, the exact ChatGPT answer and any medical assessment of the cause are not reported.

AI system
ChatGPT (reported)
Occurred
Event date unknown
Reported
11 June 2026
Event location
Unknown
What the AI did
Communicated with the person
Reported harm
Physical InjuryPsychological Distress
Whose AI use
Their own AI use
Setting
Health · Everyday life
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 1 underlying account
5 claims: 5 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: ChatGPT, which the influencer says recommended a cream to clear dermatitis quickly; the conversation is not shown in the reporting

What Happened

The advice. According to La Teja and La Nación, which quote an Instagram video the influencer posted, the influencer has long had dermatitis that few treatments have helped, and stress and anxiety in the preceding days had brought on a strong flare-up with peeling, redness and itching. The influencer said: 'I started looking for solutions on ChatGPT and it told me there was a little cream that would help me get rid of the dermatitis quickly.'

The burn. The influencer bought the cream at a pharmacy and applied it, and said: 'my face burned... I really want to cry.' La Nación describes the video as showing red marks on the forehead, cheekbones and nose. The influencer also said they had later realised the cream was dangerous for the face and stopped using it, and posted the video so that others would consult health professionals.

Afterwards. On 12 June La Teja reported that the influencer was slowly improving with the help of professionals and the right treatment, had visited a dermatologist, and showed photographs of the skin peeling as it healed. On 29 June the influencer called reports of a planned lawsuit against ChatGPT completely false.

What is not known. Which cream it was, what ChatGPT actually said (no screenshot is described), whether a clinician attributed the reaction to the cream, and the exact date.

Reported harm

An influencer says a cream ChatGPT recommended for dermatitis burned the influencer's face, causing red, peeling skin and distress; the influencer later reported improvement with a dermatologist's help. The account is the influencer's own.

How Harm Occurred

By the influencer's account, ChatGPT recommended a cream to clear dermatitis quickly; the influencer bought it at a pharmacy, applied it without medical advice, and the facial skin burned.

Outcome

Resolved

The influencer reported improvement on 12 June 2026 with professional help and a dermatologist's visit, and on 29 June 2026 said it was completely false that they would sue over ChatGPT (La Teja). No response from OpenAI is reported.

What remains unknown

  • Which cream ChatGPT recommended and what its answer said exactly.
  • Whether a clinician attributed the skin reaction to the cream.
  • When the influencer asked ChatGPT and applied the cream; the first reports are dated 11 June 2026.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The influencer says, in an Instagram video quoted by La Teja and La Nación, that ChatGPT told them a cream would help clear the dermatitis quickly, that they bought it at a pharmacy and applied it, and that their face burned. The recommendation is the influencer's own account; no screenshot or transcript of the answer is described, and no clinician's attribution of the reaction is reported.

5 claims: 5 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported The influencer says that, during a dermatitis flare-up brought on by stress and anxiety, they asked ChatGPT for solutions and it said a cream would help eliminate the dermatitis quickly.

Causal attribution. The influencer's own account of ChatGPT's answer; no transcript.

  • lateja.cr(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    'en los últimos días ha estado lidiando con estrés y ansiedad, factores que le provocaron un fuerte brote de dermatitis' ... 'Me puse a buscar soluciones en ChatGPT y me dijo que había una cremita que me iba a ayudar a eliminar la dermatitis rápido.'
  • nacion.com(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    'ChatGPT le recomendó una crema que podía ayudarlo a eliminar la dermatitis.'
Reported The influencer says they bought the cream at a pharmacy, applied it and their face burned; the video shows red marks on the forehead, cheekbones and nose.

Causal attribution. The influencer's account linking the burn to the recommended cream; no medical attribution reported.

  • lateja.cr(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    'Me fui a la farmacia, me la apliqué y se me quemó la cara.'
  • nacion.com(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    'Él hizo caso, la compró en una farmacia y se la aplicó.' ... 'manifestó al mostrar las manchas rojas en su frente, pómulos y hasta nariz'
Reported The influencer says they later realised the cream was dangerous for the face and stopped using it, and posted the experience so others would consult health professionals.

Causal attribution. The influencer's own statement.

  • lateja.cr(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    'Usé una crema y después me di cuenta de que era peligrosa para mi rostro, así que la descarté'
  • nacion.com(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    'Narró que publicó el video para que sus fans aprendieran de su mala experiencia'
Reported A day later the influencer reported slow improvement with professional help and appropriate treatment, and visited a dermatologist; the cream had been used without consulting a doctor.

Causal attribution. Recovery as reported by the influencer and La Teja.

  • lateja.cr(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    'ahora asegura que poco a poco comienza a ver una mejoría gracias al apoyo de profesionales y al tratamiento adecuado' ... 'este viernes acudió donde una dermatóloga que se ofreció ayudarlo con su problema' ... 'la compró en una farmacia y comenzó a usarla sin consultar a un médico'
Reported The influencer said it was completely false that they would take legal action against ChatGPT.

Causal attribution. Later statement; no legal action.

  • lateja.cr(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    'es completamente falso que vaya a emprender acciones legales contra la popular herramienta de inteligencia artificial'

Sources

4 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in Spanish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-27 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. La Teja report quoting the influencer's Instagram video, read in full. Applies to s1.

Read in Spanish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-27 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. La Nación report of the same video (same media group as La Teja), read in full. Applies to s2.

Read in Spanish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-27 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. La Teja follow-up quoting the influencer's later post, read in full. Applies to s3.

Read in Spanish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-27 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. La Teja follow-up quoting the influencer's Instagram stories, read in full. Applies to s4.

Event countries: Unknown. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Unknown.

No inspected body states where the influencer lives, where the pharmacy was or where the cream was applied; the only Costa Rica mention in the cited pages is a link to another story. The outlets (La Teja and La Nación) are published in Costa Rica, but a publisher does not locate the event or the person, so no country is recorded.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-27: Published as a core case (communicated_with): an influencer says ChatGPT recommended a cream for dermatitis, which the influencer bought at a pharmacy and applied, and that it burned the influencer's face; the influencer later improved with a dermatologist's help. The account is the influencer's own, relayed by two outlets of one media group, with no transcript or medical attribution. No private name appears in the public record.

People described

An adult content creator and singer with long-standing dermatitis who used ChatGPT for health advice

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed

One person, the influencer, who used ChatGPT and applied the cream.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#chatgpt#health-advice#dermatology#self-medication#first-person-video

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Influencer says ChatGPT recommended a pharmacy cream for dermatitis that burned the influencer's face. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-influencer-says-chatgpt-recommended-pharmacy-cream-for-dermatitis-that-burned-face

BibTeX

@misc{2026_influencer_says_chatgpt_recommended_pharmacy_cream_for_dermatitis_that_burned_face,
  title = {Influencer says ChatGPT recommended a pharmacy cream for dermatitis that burned the influencer's face},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-influencer-says-chatgpt-recommended-pharmacy-cream-for-dermatitis-that-burned-face}
}

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