I can’t believe we live in a world where this actually has to be said out loud, but DO NOT ingest cleaning products or disinfectants.
Both Lysol and Clorox have been doing damage control following President Donald Trump’s incredibly ridiculous press briefing on the 23rd of April, and are now urging their consumers to not drink their cleaning products. Apparently, this obvious no-no has to be spelled out after Trump insinuated that consuming disinfectants could be a potentially effective way of killing the coronavirus.
Obviously, this is quite the wrong information.
Unfortunately, the cleaning companies that produce some of the world’s most popular and well-known cleaning products are now having to plead with people not to heed the president’s words. On Friday, after the president’s press conference, the company which produces Lysol, Reckitt Benckiser (RBGLY), had to release their own statement highlighting with great clarity that their cleaning products should NEVER be ingested or injected by human beings. Like never ever. Ever.
While the company didn’t mention Trump explicitly, they did explain that their statement was a result of “recent speculation and social media activity.”
Further stating, “As a global leader in health and hygiene products, we must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route),” before specifying that their disinfectants should only be “used as intended and in line with usage guidelines.”
The statement continued, saying, “We have a responsibility in providing consumers with access to accurate, up-to-date information as advised by leading public health experts.”
The reason that the company is even having to remind consumers of the dangers of ingesting harsh chemicals is that, during the daily briefing by the coronavirus task force, the president made the absurd suggestion that perhaps there could be a method of disinfecting our bodies that is similar to how we disinfect external surfaces.
“And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in one minute. Is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning … it would be interesting to check that. It sounds interesting to me,” Trump thought aloud.
QUINN THE QUARANTINE FOX: Cleaning products are poisonous, America! Make sure you keep those cleaning products in their original bottles and locked up out of sight and out of reach of kids! pic.twitter.com/yKdZAfO2Rz
— US Consumer Product Safety Commission (@USCPSC) April 24, 2020
However, later, during CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, was quick to shut down Trump’s words.
“He also said it needs to be studied. Actually, it doesn’t. I mean we know the answer to this one. I think everybody would know that that would be dangerous and counter-productive,” Dr. Gupta said.
"I certainly wouldn't recommend the internal ingestion of a disinfectant," says FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, responding to President Trump suggesting the use of a disinfectant that can kill a Covid-19 infection "by injection inside." #CNNTownHall https://t.co/IlD9ZOfPy7 pic.twitter.com/jpFttUrZZE
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) April 24, 2020
In addition, Dr. Stephen Hahn, the Food and Drug Administration chief, also said to Anderson Cooper that he wouldn’t recommend following Trump’s statement.
He said, “I certainly wouldn’t recommend the internal ingestion of a disinfectant.”
Following Lysol’s lead, Clorox also released a statement, advising, “Bleach and other disinfectants are not suitable for consumption or injection under any circumstances. People should always read the label for proper usage instructions.”
If you are still on the fence, or don’t believe me when I say, “don’t do it,” then perhaps you can check out below the many other physicians and other health experts going on social media to advise people against drinking their cleaning products:
ALERT! Please do not ingest, inject, inhale, or otherwise use any disinfectant outside of it’s labeled instructions. And do not start using tanning beds or sunning without sunscreen. If today didn’t convince networks to stop broadcasting the pressers, nothing will.
— Dr. Rob Davidson (@DrRobDavidson) April 24, 2020
Please do not ingest or inject disinfectant.
I feel like one should not have to say this. https://t.co/fqh62F8XGw
— John Shields, MD, FAAOS (@jointdocShields) April 24, 2020
And further still, just check out Dr. Deborah Birx’s facial expression as Trump is speaking, and that should tell you all you need to know:
Here is Dr. Birx's reaction when President Trump asks his science advisor to study using UV light on the human body and injecting disinfectant to fight the coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/MVno5X7JMA
— Daniel Lewis (@Daniel_Lewis3) April 24, 2020
I understand that this global pandemic is scary and nobody wants to get sick, but please, use some common sense. DON’T drink bleach or inject Lysol.