Lysol Maker Warns Against Internal Use of Disinfectants After Trump Ponders Treatment Options
April 24 2020 - 01:05PM
Dow Jones News
By Catherine Lucey and Stephanie Armour
The manufacturer of Lysol warned that its products shouldn't be
used internally after President Trump speculated about whether
solar light and household disinfectants could be used inside the
body to treat the new coronavirus.
Reckitt Benckiser, the maker of Lysol and Dettol, wrote on
Friday that it was compelled to issue a statement "due to recent
speculation and social media activity" and warned against the
improper use of its 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)."
During Mr. Trump's daily coronavirus press briefing Thursday, a
science and technology adviser from the Department of Homeland
Security shared what he described as emerging research about how
sunlight and household disinfectants can quickly kill the virus on
surfaces. The president then pondered how those results could be
applied to patients.
"So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous -- whether it's
ultraviolet or just very powerful light -- and I think you said
that that hasn't been checked, but you're going to test it," he
said. "And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the
body."
Mr. Trump added: "And then I see the disinfectant, where it
knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do
something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning.
Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous
number on the lungs."
Mr. Trump asked Dr. Deborah Birx, the administration's
coronavirus response coordinator, if she had heard that heat and
light could work as a treatment for the virus. She replied: "Not as
a treatment, no."
She added: "Certainly fever is a good thing. When you have a
fever, it helps your body respond."
This wasn't the first time the president has spoken about
possible treatments for the new coronavirus, which has killed more
than 50,000 people in the U.S. He previously encouraged people to
take a combination of antimalarial and antibacterial drugs to
combat it, defying the advice of public-health experts as his own
advisers debate the effectiveness of the drugs.
Dr. Arthur Caplan, a professor of medical ethics at New York
University's Grossman School of Medicine, said it was dangerous for
the president to speak off the cuff about unproven treatments.
"People listen to him, they then go out and try things," Dr.
Caplan said. "You're going to kill people when you suggest try
antimalarial drugs or try disinfectants or other unproven or
dangerous ideas."
Leana Wen, former Baltimore health commissioner and an emergency
doctor at George Washington University Hospital, added that
"injecting people with disinfectant is harmful and could be deadly.
It has no benefit whatsoever, and could permanently damage blood
vessels and tissue, and even kill."
She added: "I don't know what it means to hit the body with
light. This is also not a medical therapy. It has no benefit and,
if this is referring to UV light, can lead to many types of
harm."
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany issued a statement
Friday in response. "President Trump has repeatedly said that
Americans should consult with medical doctors regarding coronavirus
treatment, a point that he emphasized again during yesterday's
briefing," she said. "Leave it to the media to irresponsibly take
President Trump out of context and run with negative
headlines."
Surgeon General Jerome Adams retweeted the White House statement
Friday and added: "A reminder to all Americans- PLEASE always talk
to your health provider first before administering any treatment/
medication to yourself or a loved one."
William Bryan, the science and technology adviser with the
Department of Homeland Security who spoke at Thursday's briefing,
told reporters that it takes 90 seconds for the virus to lose half
its strength in the presence of sunlight.
Other research has found the virus can survive for days on some
surfaces, such as cardboard, and is detectable in the air for up to
three hours, according to a study in the New England Journal of
Medicine.
Additional studies have also indicated that ultraviolet light
appears to destroy the virus, but the results aren't considered
especially significant since most transmission hasn't been linked
to people touching outdoor surfaces.
Sunlight and humidity have both been found to make it harder for
the novel coronavirus to survive on hard surfaces. Currently,
scientists don't know if spread of the novel coronavirus will wane
in summer. An April study in the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering and Medicine indicated that heat and humidity may not
be sufficient to significantly slow the virus.
"I'm just here to present talent," Mr. Trump said during his
briefing on Thursday. "I'm here to present ideas, because we want
ideas to get rid of this thing. And if heat is good and if sunlight
is good, that's a great thing as far as I'm concerned."
Write to Catherine Lucey at catherine.lucey@wsj.com and
Stephanie Armour at stephanie.armour@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 24, 2020 12:50 ET (16:50 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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