Introduction

Hydrogen peroxide is being promoted as a "cure-all" by several small nonmedical organizations.
These organizations claim that hydrogen peroxide can cure a variety of ailments including cancer, AIDS, and arthritis. However, use of hydrogen peroxide for these purposes has resulted in deaths and serious injuries. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved hydrogen peroxide for human consumption; therefore, the sale of hydrogen peroxide for this purpose is illegal. Solvay Interox, Inc. and all other hydrogen peroxide manufacturers endorse the position of the FDA and will not supply hydrogen peroxide to anyone who condones the sale of hydrogen peroxide for consumption or who knowingly sells our product to those who do.

Food Grade hydrogen peroxide is manufactured to meet specifications outlined in the Food Chemical Codex. It is approved for a limited number of food processing applications by the FDA.
The Food Grade designation in no way implies that the product is safe for consumption by humans.

The text of the Food and Drug Administration's press release of April 13, 1989, concerning medicinal or therapeutic use of hydrogen peroxide follows:

PRESS RELEASE

P89-18
Food and Drug Administration
Mike Shaffer - (301) 443-3285

The Food and Drug Administration warned today that industrial strength hydrogen peroxide illegally promoted to treat AIDS and cancer has caused at least one death in Texas and several injuries requiring hospitalization.

The products are sold as "35% Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide" to be diluted and used in "Hyperoxygenation Therapy" for AIDS, cancer, and more than 60 other conditions. FDA said there is no proof that either the product or the therapy has any medicinal value.

Further, the agency said, this concentration - more than ten times as strong as the 3 percent solution commonly used to disinfect minor cuts - is highly corrosive. FDA considers it dangerous even if it is handled according to the manufacturer’s directions.

“This concentration is not approved by FDA for any therapeutic purpose,” FDA Commissioner Frank E. Young, M.D., Ph.D., said. “Indeed, no one has come forward with any evidence this substance taken internally has any medicinal value.

Buyers are being cheated and subjected to significant risks and family members are being injured.”

The liquid is purchased in bulk from chemical plants in Texas and Mexico, and repackaged into smaller containers by distributors. Stored in home refrigerators according to the manufacturer’s instruction, the corrosive chemical has been mistaken for water and consumed.

FDA in February, while trying to halt the distribution of 35% hydrogen peroxide by a distributor operating in Brownsville, Texas, learned of two incidents that occurred last year. In August, a fouryear-old girl (in Dennison, Texas), poured a drink for her two brothers from a quart bottle that she mistook for water. The resulting injuries required more than six months of medical care and cost thousands of dollars in expense. Then in September in Conroe, Texas, a mother poured what she thought was water from a bottle in her refrigerator for her two children and a neighbor’s child. Her children were severely injured and the neighbor’s child died after drinking the liquid.

The agency said the products - sometimes called “Biowater” and “H2O2” - are promoted as an “alternative medicine” by mail-order distributors in Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, and Texas, and by some ”health food” outlets. The concentrated liquid comes in pint, quart, and gallon containers with ordinary screw caps, or, in some cases, with child-resistant caps.

Literature usually distributed with the product explains how to dilute the concentrated liquid for such unproved or unnecessary uses as sprouting seeds, purifying meat, cleansing laundry, and treating acne, gum disease, athlete’s foot, colic, headache, varicose veins, AIDS and cancer.

Materials promoting the product often include printed pages resembling magazine articles along with alleged testimonials that blend various medical facts with fictitious claims and offer the view that hydrogen peroxide’s benefits are suppressed by the medical establishment and the government.

The promotion of hydrogen peroxide as a home remedy has continued and has reappeared despite efforts of FDA beginning in 1985 to get distributors of 35 percent hydrogen peroxide to stop making the illegal claims. FDA is not aware of any medical benefits from consuming hydrogen peroxide in any form; no information or applications have been submitted to the agency to support any drug claims for taking this chemical internally.

Danger: Hydrogen Peroxide solutions are strong oxidizers and corrosive to the eyes, mucous membranes and skin. Consult the MSDS for the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment to wear when handling hydrogen peroxide. In case of contact with the eyes, skin or clothing, flush with large amounts of water for 15 minutes. In case of ingestion, sit upright, drink large quantities of water to dilute the stomach contents and seek immediate medical attention. See MSDS for additional information.



To our actual knowledge, the information contained herein is accurate as of the date of this document. However, neither Solvay Interox, Inc. nor any of its affiliates makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or accepts any liability in connection with this information or its use. This information is for use by technically skilled persons at their own discretion and risk and does not relate to the use of this product in combination with any other substance or any other process. This is not a license under any patent. The user alone must finally determine suitability of any information or material for any contemplated use, the manner of use and whether any patents are infringed.

TRADEMARKS: CAPA®, ENVIROFirst™, FB®, IXPER®, PAK™, PFP™, PicoPack™, PicoPure™, Proxitane®, Ultra Cosmetic®,
WW-12™, and/or the trade name of other Solvay Interox products referenced herein are either trademarks or registered
trademarks of Solvay Interox, Inc.

[Back to H2O2 Update]

Copyright © H2O2.com