Months after Donald Trump’s suggestion that disinfectants could be a possible treatment for the novel coronavirus was found false, some people are still ingesting disinfectants, including bleach. While this may come as obvious information to some, officials with the North Texas Poison Center at Parkland Hospital had to remind people in the area not to drink bleach following an increase in cases.
At least 46 cases of bleach ingestion were reported in North Texas since Aug. 1, ABC News affiliate WFAA reported. "Ingesting bleach or other cleaning products is downright dangerous and can lead to serious injury, including burns," a spokesperson for the North Texas Poison Center said.
The Texas Poison Center Network has seen a significant increase in calls related to ingesting cleaning products. According to an infographic shared by the network, the Texas Poison Center Network has seen a 71% increase in cases involving bleach and a 63% increase involving other household cleaners from the start of the pandemic compared to the same time period in 2019.
Experts at the North Texas Poison Center believe inaccurate information on the pandemic has influenced individuals to continue drinking disinfectants. "We certainly are not used to seeing bleach ingestion, at least that frequently in such a short amount of time, and we do know in general this year compared to last we’re seeing a whole lot more of bleach exposures," Cristina Holloway, the public health education manager at North Texas Poison Center located at Parkland Hospital, told NBC News.
Holloway added that many callers referenced COVID-19 as to why they ingested disinfectant, strengthening the center’s suspicion on misinformation. "We do know that there’s a lot of misinformation through the media, through the internet, so that can also be a contributing factor where people are misinformed and hear it from a neighbor or a friend and think it sounds like a good idea when it could potentially be dangerous," she said.
The North Texas Poison Center is one of six in Texas, according to Holloway, and most calls came from Dallas county. She noted that a majority of the 46 cases were not severe, but 12 did seek medical attention. "We do know that more people are using these products more than ever before and typically when we have more of those products, using products, we see more exposure, more accidents will happen," Holloway said. She emphasized the importance of not ingesting cleaning supplies and keeping them in a safe area.
While household cleaners, like bleach, can potentially reduce the spread of coronavirus on surfaces like tables, doorknobs, desks, countertops—they are not to be ingested. Hours after Trump’s comments in April, at least five states across the country saw an increase in calls to poison control prompting popular disinfectant companies, like The Clorox Company and Reckitt Benckiser, the parent company of both Lysol and Dettol, to quickly release statements confirming that their products should not be consumed.
As always, Trump refused to take responsibility for people acting upon his statements and deemed his comment sarcastic. When asked why he thought Americans were ingesting cleaning products, Trump replied: “I can’t imagine why,” during a White House news conference.
While it is sad that poison control centers across the country must remind us of the obvious—what’s even sadder is how the Trump administration continues to ignore the severity of this virus and encourage such dangerous actions.
