Two men were treated by emergency physicians for allegedly ingesting disinfectants to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
What We Know:
- Georgia has seen a spike in poisonings, primarily from people mixing household disinfectants in an effort to keep surfaces clean, then inhaling the dangerous fumes. The state’s poison control center has seen a doubling of their average monthly calls.
- One of the men, in his 50s, told doctors that he drank several ounces of bleach “to prevent COVID”. He was treated, moved to a psychiatric ward, and then later released.
- The other man, who is in his 30s, told doctors that he drank a combination of Pine-Sol, mouthwash, beer, as well as pain medication. He too was treated and released.
- Gaylord Lopez, the head of Georgia’s poison control center stated that the pandemic can be particularly hard on the mentally ill.
- Last week, President Donald Trump questioned if disinfectants could be injected in the human body as “almost a cleaning”.
- The comment sparked outrage and the president stated that he was being “sarcastic,” before again blaming the media for misinterpreting his remarks.
The president said on Monday that he takes no responsibility for the increase of calls to poison control centers due to people trying to ingest disinfectants. When asked about the increase during a White House news conference, Trump said, “I can’t imagine why”.
