• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Mum drinks Hydrogen Peroxide!

joshbass

New Blood
J
Joined
Nov 15, 2005
Messages
4
Chatting with my mum last night I discovered that she, along with several family members are drinking h2o2 for their health!

She seems to be going on Testimony, such as my uncle's amazing change from sleeping 18 hours a day down to 8hrs. Shes already starting to show signs of confirmation bias and Im worried she will up the dosage..

I can find plenty of examples of death by injection of h2o2 and a few of undiluted digestion, but I need more information about diluted formulas.

Thanks.

josh
 
I can conceive of cases where local water is so organically contaminated that adding 3% H2O2 might make it healthier, but I have an awful feeling that's not what you mean.
 
Isn’t there a warning on the bottle saying for external use only or to call a poison center if ingested? I think we have a bottle of the stuff around here somewhere. I’ll have to go check sometime, but I’m fairly certain there is a warning on it.

Could be worse though, there are some that advocate intravenous injections of H202. :(
 
I know it is about the best fuel you can use. Germany used it in subs near the end of WW2. They had two problems with it. One it was expensive and two it tended to explode.
I would say the stuff they are drinking is very dilute.
 
What makes me laugh is that a lot of current woo seems to be about the magic healing proprties of antioxidants. Surely H2O2 is just the opposite?
 
My sister-in-law once drank a swallow of H202. We called Poison Control. They weren't concerned and said that the worst it would do would be to give her bad stomach gas. She is still around some 17 years later.

However, if they are thinking that it is some magic cure-all, then that is a bad thing.
 
Based on Rabbit's links, the concentrations used are very low (e.g., adding a droplet of 1% H2O2 solution to a glass of drinking water is nearly homeopathic). As long as Mum doesn't drink the really high concentration, I estimate the danger to be very low.

I also estimate the advantage to be very low.
 
Hedgewitch gargles HP when she has a sore throat, but doesn't swallow (the HP ...)
 
I'm concerned about the damage it will do to the mouth and throat over time, since H2O2 is caustic:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7612371&dopt=Abstract

When it hits the stomach there is a chemical reaction (Hydrogen Peroxide plus Hydrochloric Acid) causing gas:

Swallowing hydrogen peroxide solutions is particularly dangerous, as decomposition in the stomach releases large quantities of gas (10 times the volume of a 3% solution) leading to internal bleeding. Severe pulmonary irritation by inhalation over 10%.
Click to expand...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_peroxide

At the same link above, we are warned that it becomes flammable if it is spilled and the water evaporates, causing it to become concentrated and flammable:

Hydrogen peroxide, if spilled on clothing (or other flammable materials), will preferentially evaporate water until the concentration reaches sufficient strength, then clothing will spontaneously ignite.
Click to expand...


There is no real benefit from the products of the chemical reaction in the stomach. All you get is water and oxygen gas. You burp out the gas. Any perceived benefit is placebo. Might as well just drink more water.
I really would not ingest hydrogen peroxide regularly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom