Accidental poisonings from bleach and other disinfectants spiked amid coronavirus

[babylonsister]

Accidental poisonings from bleach and other disinfectants spiked amid coronavirus
By John Bowden - 05/12/20 11:01 AM EDT


Accidental poisonings as a result of Americans mistakenly ingesting bleach or other household cleaners spiked over March and April, nearly doubling as President Trump suggested the chemicals could be useful in fighting coronavirus infections.

Data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) first reported by Time on Tuesday found that the number of calls to poison control hotlines regarding accidental poisoning from household cleaners and disinfectants surged over the past two months, nearly doubling the number of cases reported in March of 2019 and more than doubling April 2019's total case numbers.

Some 3,401 Americans reported cases of accidental poisonings from household disinfectants in March, and 3,609 did so in April. Usually, the number sits between 1,600-1,700. The first week of May looks to be little better, with 966 cases reported between May 1-10 of 2020, compared to just 573 cases reported in the same time frame last year.

The spike in accidental poisonings comes amid a controversy over remarks made in late April by Trump, who appeared to suggest that Americans could inject disinfectant chemicals as a means of treating COVID-19.

“I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute,” Trump said to health officials at a press briefing in April. “One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?”

more...

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/497312-accidental-poisonings-from-bleach-and-other-disinfectants-spiked-amid

[The Figment]

1. I have a hard time understanding that someone would drink or otherwise ingest

Bleach or a disinfectant cleanser!

The Stupid it Burns!

[The Blue Flower]

2. Nothing 'accidental' about it

It's a thing a person does with intention.

[gratuitous]

3. And nobody knows why!

It's just a thing that happened, a totally random occurrence in our universe that can't be traced or understood or even analyzed. Like one of those Bible miracles, we just have to accept that it happened.

[jberryhill]

4. Okay explain why....

Trump made his dumbass statement on April 23:

https://www.factcheck.org/2020/04/the-white-house-spins-trumps-disinfectant-remarks/

At an April 23 press briefing, President Donald Trump mused about the possibility of using “very powerful light” and injecting disinfectant into the body to kill COVID-19 – a suggestion that, in the case of disinfectant, was roundly criticized by experts as dangerous.

The article in the OP says:

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/497312-accidental-poisonings-from-bleach-and-other-disinfectants-spiked-amid


Some 3,401 Americans reported cases of accidental poisonings from household disinfectants in March, and 3,609 did so in April. Usually, the number sits between 1,600-1,700. The first week of May looks to be little better, with 966 cases reported between May 1-10 of 2020, compared to just 573 cases reported in the same time frame last year.

So, you are saying, at a time of increased use of such products, that there are people who heard Trump on April 23, got into time machines, went back to March, and drank disinfectant?

[gratuitous]

5. Just because Lord Littlehands was late to the party

It doesn't mean that this quackery was circulating in certain corners of the internet. See this report dated March 13, 2020, more than a month before Trump blurted out his lunacy:

https://weartv.com/news/offbeat/dont-drink-bleach-to-prevent-coronavirus-poison-control-center-says-03-13-2020

No time machine needed.

[jberryhill]

7. How does that article support the assertion...

"this quackery was circulating in certain corners of the internet"


It's actually not surprising that increased use and attention to these kinds of products would result in increased poisonings. The article notes that cleaning supplies are, normally, the leading cause of calls to poison centers.

I doubt the class of "internet users" is among the largest contingent of people who would be under the false impression this would help them. I would also doubt the largest share of actual poisoning victims remain children in the vicinity of carelessly used or stored products (again as a function of increased use).

It is also the case that, by definition, 50% of the public is of below average intelligence. At places like DU, we enjoy mocking people with intellectual deficits and giving them "Darwin Awards" because we are superior to them.

There are still frightened young women who douche with stuff like this in the belief it will prevent pregnancy too.

But the suggestion that a statement made by Trump on April 23, is responsible for a two-month increase in disinfectant poisonings that began in March, is every bit as stupid as the belief that drinking it will cure this infection.

Look at the reply on the main thread, just below this subthread.

[gratuitous]

12. Oh, I guess the Blue Ridge Poison Control Center just issued a random statement

From the article (emphasis added):

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WSET) — The Blue Ridge Poison Center in Charlottesville is asking people not to drink bleach to try and prevent COVID-19 infections.

They said there is a lot of confusing, incomplete and inaccurate information circulating about how to prevent coronavirus from spreading, including drinking bleach which is dangerous and could cause serious injury. Moreover, it will not prevent a coronavirus infection.

Maybe it was the BRPCC that went back in time to issue this statement which Weartv reported on March 13? Or maybe it was Weartv that time-traveled? Or BRPCC made the statement pre-emptively in case Trump said something stupid five weeks later? I appreciate your attempt at putting words in my post that aren't there, but I never said the increase in reports of bleach poisoning was all due to Trump's statement on April 23. I guess you just needed to call someone stupid today.

[KayF]

6. i bet Trump would be proud of this

shows his power to influence people

[raccoon]

8. I hope someone sues the Dotard for this. nt

[Whiskeytide]

9. Тяцмр Is an idiot. But a rise in accidental ingestion ...

... would seem to be expected given the dramatic increase in use. People have been disinfecting everything 20 times more often, and that leads to more accidents.

While I’m sure a few incidents after Тяцмр‘s comments could be related to idiocy, the vast majority of these events are more likely just statistical reality.

[jberryhill]

10. Note the timeline in the article

Trump made his idiotic remarks on April 23.

[Whiskeytide]

11. You're right. Just saw your post above. n/t

[babylonsister]

14. Yes, we're disinfecting, but 'accidently' ingesting?

How does one even do that?

[Whiskeytide]

17. Well, I assume people aren't careful, and are ...

... a little inexperienced with using it. Maybe they leave it on the counter and a child takes a swig. Maybe they’re cleaning overhead and it spills in their face. Maybe it splashed into their face/mouth when they dropped the bucket.

Before all of this, there was a number of accidental poisonings. Since March, that number has shot up. That necessarily means that accidental events took place before the pandemic, right? However these accidental poisonings occurred back then, we now simply have a lot more of them because a lot more people are using such cleaners, and are using them more frequently.

Again, I’m not defending the orange hitler’s comments. They were off the chart stupid. But reading something into these stats that really isn’t there is also not a good look for our side. We’re supposed to be the smart guys.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

13. A lot of people are really stupid.

[Initech]

15. I miss the days when a president would never tell people to drink bleach.

My god how our standards have fallen.

[Aviation91]

16. What Idiots!!

Why in the hell would anybody have to call the Poison Control Hotline to ask whether you should drink disinfectant? All you have to do is read the dam label...but then I guess they only read the label to get the number after they drank it!!!

[MissMillie]

18. What bothered me most about the whole exchange...

Was that 45 was asking these doctors--experts--"we're looking into that, right?" (or something along those lines).

Not one of them said, "Of course not sir. It's pretty well documented that those disinfectants are poisonous when put into the human body. Even decades ago, we were so worried about people using them internally that we put a skull and crossed-bones on the packaging."


Seriously... they know if they make him look bad they'll lose their jobs. But by being silent, they're not doing their jobs.