OMG PEOPLE THIS NEEDS TO STOP!
It used to be only the fringe kooks who made or took dangerous alternative healthcare suggestions, now it goes all the way to the top!
As you may have heard, on Thursday the President of the United States suggested during a press conference that ingesting disinfectant, possibly by injection, might be a good way to clean out the infection of coronavirus during the pandemic. Yes, that really happened. But Donald Trump isn’t the only one spreading terrible information.
Chris Cuomo has been one of the most high-profile COVID-19 patients as he was able to give regular updates through his job as a CNN anchor. Sadly those updates lately have included his wife and his teenage son testing positive for the virus.
Related: Cristina Says Her ‘Heart Hurts’ Over Son’s Diagnosis
But while Chris has had his hands full fact-checking the POTUS on his inane pandemic statements, his wife, Cristina Cuomo, is contributing to the misinformation.
Just one day before literally the dumbest thing we’ve ever heard a president say, Cristina posted another VERY bad piece of advice on her lifestyle blog, THE PURIST.
[Note: Upon review, some of the quotes in the first stories posted about Cristina’s blog do not match the current text, suggesting she has gone back and edited after the backlash.]
First she sang the praises of getting an expensive “vitamin drip,” an IV infusion of a cocktail of minerals — mostly vitamin C in this case — which can cost hundreds of dollars. (Thankfully most people can’t even afford to throw away their money on the fad treatment, which has had no major studies done to prove its benefits.)
But up next she recommended a treatment anyone can afford (though with a warning to consult “a doctor or naturopath” first): bathing in bleach water!
She wrote:
“At the direction of my doctor, Dr. Linda Lancaster, who reminded me that this is an oxygen-depleting virus, she suggested I take a bath and add a nominal amount of bleach. Yes, bleach.”
Oh man. Seriously?? Cristina continued:
“So, I add a small amount — 1/2 cup ONLY — of Clorox to a full bath of warm water — Why? To combat the radiation and metals in my system and oxygenate it.”
She included a quote from Dr. Linda Lancaster, the founder of the Light Harmonics Institute where she practices “Energy Medicine.” (As opposed to, you know, medicine, which most doctors practice.)
Dr. Lancaster said:
“We want to neutralize heavy metals because they slow-up the electromagnetic frequency of our cells, which is our energy field, and we need a good flow of energy. Clorox is sodium chloride — which is technically salt. There is no danger in doing this. It is a simple naturopathic treatment that has been used for over 75 years to oxygenate the cells.”
Oof, OK. Where to start?
Well, first off why not on the Clorox website, which specifically advises AGAINST bathing in bleach:
“Clorox® Regular Bleach2 is NOT recommended for personal hygiene of any kind — consumers should always avoid direct skin and eye contacts with both undiluted bleach, as well as prolonged contact with the various bleach solutions we recommend for household cleaning and laundry.”
The warning does make note of the use of tiny amounts of bleach to make dirty water drinkable in an emergency situation, which uses about half of the amount of bleach Cristina was using. The Clorox site continues:
“Perhaps you are familiar with the instructions for using bleach for emergency treatment of drinking water. That’s an entirely different situation. For that, the bleach to water ratio is 1/8 teaspoon bleach per gallon of clear water, and the treated water has to stand for 30 minutes before drinking. During this time, the bleach kills any bacteria in the water before breaking down into salt and water.”
However, they make it very clear that’s for emergencies and should NOT be used for baths. EVER.
“While this solution is safe to drink, using a bleach and water solution for bathing is not approved by the EPA and should not be done.”
We should also note there was presumably nothing wrong with Cristina Cuomo’s tap water, so this was completely pointless — though thankfully little enough bleach that she didn’t horribly burn herself.
We are so glad she is OK. And also, she should be plenty healthy enough we don’t feel bad yelling at her, GURL TAKE DOWN THIS BLOG AND APOLOGIZE!
We mean, come on! She paid a doctor to tell her to do this ridiculous, unhelpful thing and didn’t get hurt. But it’s not hard to imagine someone tries this at home after reading about it on a health blog, complete with the endorsement of someone with Dr. in their name, and ends up doing the math wrong and seriously getting injured.
Ugh. Please stay safe out there, y’all. Do not get your advice on how to deal with this thing from lifestyle bloggers or “naturopaths.” This is a pandemic. Just listen to the experts for now. You can go back to your homeopathic remedies after, OK?
[Image via C.Smith/WENN/Avalon.]
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