The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday issued a warning against the use of bleach products marketed online as treatments for conditions ranging from autism to cancer.
For nearly a decade, the FDA has warned against the use of “Miracle Mineral Solution,” an unapproved solution that becomes bleaching agent chlorine dioxide when mixed with a citric acid that consumers are instructed to add.
{mosads}The solution has been variously marketed as a cure for autism, cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and flu, with no evidence to support its use against any of those.
“The FDA’s drug approval process ensures that patients receive safe and effective drug products. Miracle Mineral Solution and similar products are not FDA-approved, and ingesting these products is the same as drinking bleach. Consumers should not use these products, and parents should not give these products to their children for any reason,” acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless said in a statement.
While the FDA has warned of the hazards of Miracle Mineral Solution since 2010, it has recently received new reports of severe vomiting, severe diarrhea, acute liver failure and potentially fatal low blood pressure due to dehydration among users.
“The FDA will continue to track those selling this dangerous product and take appropriate enforcement actions against those who attempt to evade FDA regulations and market unapproved and potentially dangerous products to the American public,” Sharpless said.
“Our top priority is to protect the public from products that place their health at risk, and we will send a strong and clear message that these products have the potential to cause serious harm,” he added.