Americans are poisoning themselves trying to disinfect against COVID-19

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Americans are poisoning themselves trying to disinfect against COVID-19

A woman who heard people should clean all recently purchased groceries plunged her produce in a sink with a mixture of 10 per cent bleach solution, vinegar and hot water

Calls to U.S. poison centres have increased since the coronavirus landed stateside in January, with a sharp increase in March during the onslaught of lockdowns, according to data released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

The CDC looked at the number of calls from January to March of this year and compared it to the same period in 2019 and 2018.

 

The health authority found that calls about exposures to chemicals and disinfectants increased by 20 per cent from 2019 to 2020, with children five years old or younger making up the majority of the victims.

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The report gave two case examples. One was an adult woman who heard on the news that people should clean all recently purchased groceries before eating. The woman then filled her sink with a mixture of 10 per cent bleach solution, vinegar and hot water to soak her produce.

 

“While cleaning her other groceries, she noted a noxious smell described as ‘chlorine’ in her kitchen. She developed difficulty breathing, coughing, and wheezing, and called 911,” the report stated. She was taken to the hospital in an ambulance, where it was determined she had low oxygen in the blood and wheezing. She was discharged hours later.

 

In the second case, a preschool-aged girl was found unresponsive at home after she consumed an unknown amount of ethanol-based hand sanitizer. Her family said she became dizzy after ingesting the sanitizer, fell and hit her head. While on the way to the emergency, she threw up and was poorly responsive. Her blood alcohol level was more than three times the limit set for driving. The girl recovered after staying in intensive care overnight and went home after two days.

 

 

Correlation with heightened media reports

 

The CDC’s report found that bleach and non-alcoholic disinfectants and sanitizers made up the largest category for the calls, at around two-thirds.

 

The CDC stated in the report that the data likely underestimates the total number and severity of poisonings happening in the U.S., as it relies on people calling the poison centres for assistance. As well, there is no direct link found between the poisonings and efforts to prevent or treat COVID-19.

 

“Although a causal association cannot be demonstrated, the timing of these reported exposures corresponded to increased media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, reports of consumer shortages of cleaning and disinfection products, and the beginning of some local and state stay-at-home orders.”

 

National Post