I never intended to write about the dangerous effects of ingesting or injecting disinfectants like Lysol, but we're living in a "new normal." Yesterday's surprise announcement by 45 recommending for people who believe that they have contracted coronavirus to drink disinfectant or inject it "into the body" was beyond the pale, thoroughly idiotic.
Let's begin with the following simple message anyone and everyone must follow:
Do not Ingest or inject yourself with disinfectant. It will kill you!
I said it and I mean it. Household cleaners and disinfectants contain harmful chemicals that can kill you. This is especially true if you ingest a lot of it. So, do me a favour and not ingest or inject it. Disinfectant is not a miracle drug.
Let's set aside the following fact. When we're young, very young, and we have the verbal and comprehension skills of a well-trained animal, a we may have wandered into our parent's room, found some household cleaner, and ingested some of it. Of course, that was followed by our parents panicking and calling the poison control centre immediately. It is something they will never forget and it is a story they will tell you for the remainder of the time that they are alive. You'll hear this a lot: "Remember that time your drank some clorox bleach, dumbass! It's hard to believe you're graduating from Harvard today." If not much of the disinfectant was ingested, you likely recovered after a very nasty interaction--maybe hives, maybe a very bad stomach ache, whatever. If enough of it was consumed, that may have then resulted in the toddler's death.--Not funny! I'm serious.
Household products come with warning labels that direct people not to ingest or inject it into the human body. Warning labels aren't recommendations. They're not suggesting that you don't really have to follow it. They're the kind of labels that warn you against doing something because potentially catastrophic consequences could follow. Heed the warning because the company who manufactured the product has put the directive on the bottle or can to make sure you stay safe. It's one of the rarest instances where a company, a corporation, is looking out for you, the consumer.
No, you say? This is a falsehood manufactured by George Soros, you say? Fake news, you say? OK, I am not sure what reasons or evidence will convince you. Worse than that, I am not even sure how to communicate with someone who believes that harsh chemicals you use to clean floors or disinfectants you use to remove bacteria from toilets are perfectly safe for human consumption. Let's have a test run. Go drink from the toilet. That's likely more sensible than drinking or jabbing yourself with harsh chemicals. Though, if you drink toilet water, you will get sick from doing that too. See, another tricky form of communication: a warning. Don't do it!
No, you say? You say that I don't understand sarcasm. That 45 was just kidding around when he said to ingest or inject yourself with disinfectant. I feel like I'm a fairly smart person who's capable of understanding a joke, some sarcasm, when I hear it. Sometimes, I miss it. I admit that. But what 45 said was neither a joke nor sarcastic. Let's call the announcement what it really was: dangerous.
For any politician to recommend at a press conference about one of the worst pandemics in recent history to consume disinfectant in order to get rid of coronavirus is dangerous. He didn't begin with "Knock, Knock;" he didn't ask, "Why'd the chicken cross the road?" So, he wasn't joking. Similarly, the recommendation didn't come up glibly after having been asked what he thought people should use to get rid of coronavirus--a sure sign of sarcasm. Instead, 45 offered up ingesting or injecting disinfectant as what he thought would cure coronavirus--an opinion so blatantly false that it's dangerous, period.
Let me end where I began: ingesting or injecting disinfectant into your body will kill you. Don't do it! Thank you.