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from the Dunning–Kruger-Effect-or-Darwin-Award-Candidates? dept.
Americans are drinking bleach and dunking food in it to prevent COVID-19:
Americans are doing more housecleaning and disinfecting amid the COVID-19 pandemic and many are turning to wild and dangerous tactics—like drinking and gargling bleach solutions.
Back in April, the agency noted an unusual spike in poison control center calls over harmful exposures to household cleaning products, such as bleach. The timing linked it to the spread of the pandemic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (not statements by President Trump). But to get a clearer idea of what was behind the rise, CDC researchers set up an online survey of household cleaning and disinfection knowledge and practices.
In all, they surveyed 502 US adults and used statistical weighting to make it representative of the country's population. The findings—published Friday in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report—are stunning.
Overall, 60 percent said they were doing more cleaning and disinfecting amid the pandemic and 39 percent admitted to doing at least one non-recommended cleaning practice the CDC considers high risk.
The questions and responses are fully available (NO paywall); read it here:
Journal Reference
Gharpure R, Hunter CM, Schnall AH, et al. Knowledge and Practices Regarding Safe Household Cleaning and Disinfection for COVID-19 Prevention, [OPEN] MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6923e2)
Questions from the survey:
Recommended Best Practices:
- When making a dilute bleach solution, only room temperature water should be used
- Bleach should not be mixed with vinegar
- Hand sanitizers should be kept out of reach of children
- Bleach should not be mixed with ammonia
- For some household cleaning products, eye protection should be used during use
- Hands should be washed with soap and water after using household cleaning products
- For some household cleaning products, gloves should be used during use
- Good ventilation (air flow) is needed when using cleaning chemicals
- Household cleaning products should be kept out of reach of children
Risky Practices Performed:
- Drank or gargled diluted bleach solution
- Drank or gargled soapy water
- Drank or gargled a household cleaner
- Inhaled the vapor of household cleaners like bleach
- Misted the body with cleaning spray or alcohol spray
- after being in public spaces
- Used household cleaner to clean or disinfect hands or bare skin
- Washed fruits, vegetables, or other food products with bleach
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 08 2020, @12:01AM (4 children)
For that matter, there are times when it's reasonable to drink what is effectively a highly diluted bleach solution: https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/emergency-disinfection-drinking-water [epa.gov]. This isn't for disinfecting the body from infectious agents but to kill microorganisms in potentially contaminated drinking water.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 08 2020, @05:52AM (3 children)
The recommended amount of 6% bleach solution to add to a quart/liter of water is equivalent to 154 microlitres or 0.03125 teaspoons (although the volumes used don't increase linearly the way they should). I highly doubt the people doing these dangerous activities are using anywhere low of that amount or even the correct kind of bleach.
(Score: 4, Funny) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Monday June 08 2020, @07:16AM (2 children)
Microlitres? Teaspoons? Please use everyday, easily visualised units for volume - it's 0.0000193 Bugatti Chiron engines.
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 1) by DECbot on Monday June 08 2020, @05:09PM (1 child)
Couldn't you just give it to me in some units I understand, like liters per gallon.
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
(Score: 2) by Farmer Tim on Wednesday June 10 2020, @02:00PM
Came for the news, stayed for the soap opera.