People have become so fearful about this deadly virus that they’re disinfecting everything to far greater extent than ever before.
Disinformation and misuse has led to a vast increase in the number of cases of accidental poisonings in Canada.
Due to the virus, people have been buying and using more cleaners and disinfectants which means there are more in the house, where more people are spending time at home and more children also at home and curious.
Health Canada reports that in February and March, there was a 58 per cent increase in cases related to cleaners and disinfectants over the same period in 2019. This occurred in fact mostly in March as the pandemic began to spread.
More than a third of the calls (38%) were related to bleach. While there has been a steep increase in the number of emergency calls to the five regional poison centres across the country, the number of poisoning or near poisonings may be much higher as people may not report less serious cases.
While there has been great concern about children becoming harmed by the products, the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control indicates a 60 per cent spike in calls from adults regarding exposure to disinfectants since early March.
The U.S Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports a similar spike in accidental poisonings https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6916e1.htm
A case in the U.S involved a women who had heard fruits should be disinfected before eating, filled her sink with hot water and about 10 per cent bleach and vinegar. She was soon had difficulty breathing, was coughing and had to be taken to hospital
The chemical reaction of mixing bleach with vinegar or a cleaner with ammonia can produce potentially deadly gasses. One expert also says cleaning fruit with excess amounts of sanitizer can be a risk. Indeed another mistake is using cleaners full strength when the instructions indicate they should be diluted.
Because some sanitizers have pleasant smell, there have been cases of children drinking the product with serious consequences.
Officials strongly recommend carefully reading instructions on the labels and also putting them away carefully after use, preferably out of reach of children.
Additional information – sources
- CBC: R.Marchitelli: May 5/20: Canadians are accidentally poisoning themselves while cleaning to prevent COVID-19
- Global News: M.Collie: May 5/20: Accidental poisonings from cleaning supplies on the rise
- Barrie 360: D.Blakeley: May 5/20: Health Canada reports jump in disinfectant related accidental poisonings
- Victoria News: A. Wadhwani : Apr 30/20: B.C. poison control officials see spike in disinfectant exposure calls
- PostMediia: Apr.22/20: Americans are poisoning themselves trying to disinfect against COVID-19
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