A new report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reveals that an increasing number of Americans are putting poisonous cleaning supplies into their bodies under the misguided belief that doing so will protect them from the coronavirus.
Such behavior recalls President Donald Trump’s comment in late April that ingesting or injecting cleaning supplies might cure one of the coronavirus, despite no evidence or science supporting such actions.
The study found that, among respondents in an opt-in internet survey conducted in May 2020, nearly two out of five engaged in high-risk practices not recommended by the CDC or other reputable scientific groups in order to ward off the spread of the coronavirus. Nineteen percent applied bleach to food items like fruits and vegetables, 18 percent applied household cleaning and disinfectant products to their skin, 10 percent sprayed themselves with cleaning or disinfectant spray, 6 percent inhaled fumes from household cleaners or disinfectants and 4 percent drank or gargled diluted bleach solutions, soapy water and other cleaning and disinfectant solutions.
One out of four respondents reported a number of consequent health problems including 11 percent who experienced nose or sinus irritation, 8 percent who experienced skin irritation, 8 percent who experienced eye irritation, 8 percent who experienced dizziness, lightheadedness, or headache, 6 percent who experienced stomach issues or nausea and 6 percent who experienced breathing problems.