“Don’t inject yourself with disinfectants” seems like it’d be a no-brainer, but here we are: the company that makes Lysol and Dettol was forced to issue a statement urging people not to consume their products after President Donald Trump suggested that injecting them into the body might protect against COVID-19. (Again, to be clear: it will not.)
The company Reckitt Benckiser warned customers that putting cleaning supplies in your body by any means — injecting, swallowing, etc. — is extremely dangerous.
“Due to recent speculation and social media activity, RB (the makers of Lysol and Dettol) has been asked whether internal administration of disinfectants may be appropriate for investigation or use as a treatment for coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2),” the company said in a statement. “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). As with all products, our disinfectant and hygiene products should only be used as intended and in line with usage guidelines. Please read the label and safety information.”
The statement comes after Trump’s comments in a Thursday press conference, where he said, “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.”
Of course, as CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta pointed out, we don’t need to “check that” because we already know that cleaning supplies are poisonous. “He also said it needs to be studied. Actually, it doesn’t. I mean we know the answer to this one,” he said. “I think everybody would know that that would be dangerous and counter-productive.”
Just in case, once more for the people in the back: Household cleaning supplies won’t cure coronavirus and don’t belong in your body. (Please tell us you already knew that.)
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