US FDA Issues Warnings About Dangers Of Bogus ‘Miracle Mineral Solution’ Sold Online
Source: Thailand Medical News Aug 18, 2019 5 years, 3 months, 4 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes ago
The US FDA has made announcements warning the public against purchasing or consuming a bogus but dangerous product sold online known as Miracle Mineral Solution(MMS) as a result of a high number of cases of health issues that arose from consumers who bought and drank it across several states the last few months. There has already been a number of cases of fatality and police are already investigating.
These products widely available on the internet and now also making an appearance in certain Asian markets including Thailand, Philippines and Singapore come under the names including Master Mineral Solution, Miracle Mineral Supplement, Chlorine Dioxide Protocol, and Water Purification Solution. Some are also sold through multi-level marketing or direct marketing programmes and are endorsed by bogus and fake “so-called nutritionists and health professionals.”
Despite being an illegal product that is not cleared by any medical or health regulatory entities, sellers are promoting it as having antimicrobial, antiviral and antibacterial properties and are claiming that it is an effective treatment for cancer, HIV, autism, acne, malaria, flu, Lyme disease and hepatitis although there has been not a single medical study to prove any of its claims. Rather the product is literally a toxic poison that has life threatening properties.
The product which appears as a colourless liquid is actually 28% sodium chlorite that the makers have diluted in mineral water. Customers are directed to mix the solution with citric acid, which is present in lemon or lime juice.
However, the solution, when mixed, develops into chlorine dioxide, a powerful dangerous bleach that is used in industrial paper bleaching in paper mills. Just a single drop of MMS can contain 5 to 15 mg of the toxic compound whereas the safety limits set by various regulatory agencies sets it as 0.5 mg per liter.
Unknowing consumers who had taken MMS have supplied reports to the FDA and police. The subsequent list of potential side effects includes severe vomiting and diarrhea, life threatening hypotension (low blood pressure), headaches, unconsciousness, liver failure, kidney failure and in some cases deaths have occurred.
What is even more disturbing is that some MMS labels claim that vomiting and diarrhea are positive signs that the mixture is working to heal people's ailments.
US FDA Acting Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless in a phone interview with Thailand Medical News commented, “Ingesting these products is the same as drinking bleach. Consumers should not use these products, and parents should not give these products to their children for any reason. Consumers should talk to a health care professional about treating any medical conditions or diseases rather then to self-prescribe with bogus products from illegal online stores"
The Thai authorities have also been informed and are on a lookout for anyone trying to promote the product online in Thailand or in the Thai language in social media platforms.
Meanwhile the public is also being made aware of being more cautious of health products sold online claiming to have medical properties and also to be aware of multi-level marketing groups promoting health cures. The same goes for people claiming to be natural health doctors, scientologists, nutritionists or alternative health healers. B
y law anyone caught making verbal, written or even online posted medical claims without proper medical proof and studies can be subjected to criminal and police actions and the public is advised to report any such occurrences to the Ministry of Public health, or Thai FDA , the police or even the army.
MMS is not a new product and has been on the market for a while. Jim Humble,a ‘Scientologist’, "discovered" the substance and promoted it as a cure for autism and other conditions.
An anonymous source commented “it is so sad to see people in a developed country like America be so naïve enough to pay and drink Bleach just to cure their ailments instead of seeking professional help. Its either a case of stupidity, desperation , the cancellation of Obamacare or Trump!”
