Don't Ingest Disinfectant Despite Trump, Warn LA Health Officials

LOS ANGELES, CA — Please don't drink bleach or Lysol or any other disinfectant, Los Angeles County's top help officials implored residents Friday after President Donald Trump created a furor by suggesting that injecting disinfectant could kill COVID-19 inside the body. Disinfectants meant for cleaning surfaces can be highly toxic, said Barbara Ferrer, director of the county Department of Public Health.

In making her plea, Ferrer added her voice to the chorus of health officials and disinfectant companies trying to dispel the suggestion Trump made at his White House briefing Thursday. Trump since walked back his comments, suggesting that he was being sarcastic when he made the remark. Still,the comments alarmed officials who have been battling dangerous suggestions for combating the coronavirus circulating on social media. Last month a man in Arizona died after he and his wife ingested fish food that contained chloroquine after they heard Trump touting hydroxychloroquine as a "game-changer" in the fight against COVID-19.

"Please, don't inject, ingest or even put on your body any disinfectants that you're using for cleaning purposes," Ferrer said Friday. "It's completely inappropriate and it's extraordinarily dangerous. That's not what those products are meant for and there's absolutely no scientific evidence that indicates that they would either be safe or that they could help prevent you from becoming infected. Or if you are infected, they're not a therapeutic medicine to help you get better."

Trump's comments on Thursday suggesting that disinfectant injections could be used to fight the virus have drawn widespread condemnation. Some disinfectant companies issued statements Friday warning against such uses of their products, and even the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted a Twitter message warning that such use could cause health problems.

The White House initially contended Friday that Trump's remarks had been taken out of context. The president later claimed he was "asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen."

Ferrer said that whether Trump was being sarcastic "doesn't really matter."

"The most important thing right now is that people have good information that they really shouldn't use those products for anything except cleaning," she said.

Ferrer also warned that many cleaning products are "harsh" and "extraordinarily dangerous," particularly if they are mixed.

"We do want to make sure the public understands that information wasn't accurate, and please don't act on it," she said.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.