More Than 1 in 3 US Adults Use Disinfectants Unsafely

July 28, 2020 Bridget M. Kuehn, MSJ JAMA. 2020;324(4):328. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.12600

In a recent online survey, 39% of US adults reported using disinfectants and other cleaning products in potentially harmful ways as they tried to prevent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

A spike in calls to US poison control centers reporting exposure to cleaning products and disinfectants early in 2020 raised concern about hazardous use of these products in response to the ongoing pandemic. To gauge how often these risks occur, the CDC commissioned an online survey in which a nationally representative sample of 502 US adults participated.

Sixty percent of respondents said they cleaned or disinfected their home more frequently to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection. But many did so in unsafe ways: 19% used bleach on food such as fruit or vegetables and 18% reported using household cleaning products on their skin. Ten percent reported misting their body with a cleaning or disinfectant spray. Six percent reported inhaling vapors from cleaning or disinfectant products, and 4% said they drank or gargled with diluted bleach, soapy water, or other cleaning or disinfectant solutions.

“These practices pose a risk of severe tissue damage and corrosive injury and should be strictly avoided,” the authors warned.

In fact, one-quarter of all the survey participants said using cleaning products or disinfectants caused adverse effects such as irritation of the nose, sinuses, skin, or eyes; dizziness; lightheadedness; headache; nausea; or breathing problems. Those who didn’t use the products safely were more than twice as likely to say they had an adverse reaction than the other respondents.

Although most respondents said they knew how to safely clean and disinfect their home, the survey revealed serious gaps in knowledge. To curb unsafe practices, the researchers wrote that prevention messages about SARS-CoV-2 should provide specific recommendations for hand hygiene and cleaning high-touch surfaces. They emphasized that it’s necessary to always follow directions on the products’ labels.

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