Remember, not too long ago, when we reported on the absolutely crazy craze for eating Tide detergent Pods? Where this dangerous myth started remains a mystery, as far as I know. But social media spread it like wildfire. Now, there’s another social media ‘food’ craze sweeping California…
While it is used mainly as a household disinfectant and cleaning aid, Hydrogen Peroxide
is also found in Oxygen Bleaches, Mouthwashes, and other products we take
for granted. But it is not a food, nor is it a cure for any known disease.
Who in their right mind would ever consider drinking Hydrogen Peroxide for supposed ‘health benefits’? Lots of folks are pushing the dangerous new craze via social media after it popped up recently in California. To be fair, a lot of crackpot ideas have popped up first in California, but it’s the social media angle that’s let this one spread out of control so far, so fast.
What it is…
Hydrogen Peroxide is a simple chemical compound: H2O2. But it’s a powerful reactive substance as well as a blockbuster disinfectant. In fact it’s used today mainly as a disinfectant and bleach, and in some industrial chemical processes. But it has been used, in the past, as a component of rocket fuel and, earlier than that, in steam propulsion systems for naval torpedoes.
How it comes…
The household variety of Hydrogen Peroxide is a very low concentration – no more than about 3 percent. But an industrial version comes in at around 35 percent and, in the rocket fuel business, concentrations of over 90 percent are not uncommon.
Even the relatively weak household concentration can cause irritation when applied externally, to treat and disinfect wounds. So why would anyone risk drinking it?
Social media chatter…
A whole crowd of folks on social media are claiming all sorts of health benefits for H2O2. While there are many references to the chemical’s toxicity and the dangers associated with it, there are no official – doctor, scientist or researcher origin – references to any sort of health benefits from drinking it.
Nevertheless, boosters say Hydrogen Peroxide must be safe because ‘it’s just water (H2O) with another Oxygen atom attached’. How naïve! Others are extolling it as a wonder drug that can cure any number of diseases, including cancer. That’s totally unfounded. And all the more dangerous, if people already stricken and weakened by cancer try he ‘cure’.
The bottom line…
In response to a flood of calls from the public asking whether Hydrogen Peroxide is safe to drink, The California Poison Control Center decided put out an alert asking people to stop drinking the stuff, calling it ‘poison’. Remember that the next time you see a Twitter feed or some other social media post about this dangerous new practice!
~ Maggie J.