Medical News: FDA Warns of Cure-All Product Based on Bleach - in Product Alert, OTC from MedPage Today

"The FDA has warned consumers not to use a product called Miracle Mineral Solution -- which makes broad health claims -- because it's actually an industrial strength bleach.

"Consumers who have MMS should stop using it immediately and throw it away," the agency urged.

The FDA has received several reports of people who have suffered severe nausea, vomiting, and life-threatening hypotension after drinking a mixture containing the product.

Sometimes labeled as Miracle Mineral Supplement, MMS is 28% sodium chlorite. Its instructions call for consumers to mix it with citrus juice or another acidic substance.

An enormous variety of health claims are made for the product, including treatment of HIV, hepatitis, the H1N1 flu virus, common colds, acne, and cancer.

According to the FDA, the mixture produces chlorine dioxide, a potent bleach used for stripping textiles and industrial water treatment.

At the doses consumers would ingest under these directions, this agent is known to cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and symptoms of severe dehydration, the FDA said.

MMS is distributed on Internet sites and online auctions by multiple independent distributors with varying labels, the agency said..."cont'd