Are you misusing this common item in your medicine cabinet? This emergency room physician assistant tells viewers they’re probably misusing hydrogen peroxide.
Kids of Gen X, millennials, and even Gen Y will likely remember the first time they scraped a knee or got a bad cut and their parents poured a generous amount of hydrogen peroxide on the wound, lathered it up, and then bandaged it.
WebMD states:hydrogen peroxide It is a gentle disinfectant that can be applied to the skin to help prevent infection of minor cuts, scrapes, and burns. It can also be used as a mouthwash to help clear mucus and soothe minor mouth irritations.”
But one medical expert is warning viewers to be careful not to overuse the popular treatment over the long term.
Emergency Room Professionals’ Warning
According to Rachel (@)Lactep), eEmergency Room Physician Assistant (ERPA) Hydrogen peroxide can have harmful effects under certain circumstances, as she explained in a video posted on August 9.
The video has since garnered over 537,500 viewers and the number continues to grow.
“Do you know how many people are misusing hydrogen peroxide?” Rachel asks viewers in the video, adding the caption, “Stop hurting yourself.”
She goes on to argue that there are three ways people can harm themselves by using disinfectants.
“I did the same thing,” she said of using the solution to treat mouth ulcers.
She says one patient had been using hydrogen peroxide to whiten her teeth after quitting smoking: “She had terrible mouth ulcers that just wouldn’t go away,” she says.
“So she came into the emergency room and was horrible. [mouth ulcer]and she said, ‘It’s not curing,'” Rachel says. “It turned out it was because of the hydrogen peroxide…because hydrogen peroxide kills both good and bad cells.”
Rachel then described a diabetic patient who had ulcerated sores on the bottom of his foot. The healing process Of wounds.
“It was now a huge ulcer,” she claims. “She had been putting hydrogen peroxide on it for three weeks.”
Rachel said the hydrogen peroxide had made the ulcer worse and it would take “several months” to heal.
Finally, Rachel describes a patient who claims to have come in for a “suture removal.”
“Her stitches were really crusted over,” says Rachel, who claims that an investigation revealed that the patient’s mother had been applying hydrogen peroxide to the wounds daily.
She claims she told her mother: “You’re basically [re] “Hydrogen peroxide treatments just open up the wounds, and they just keep re-scabbing,” she says.
“I don’t like to make people feel bad,” she later said, “but people need to know better.”
Is hydrogen peroxide bad for mouth ulcers?
According to an article published in January 2023, Colgate.com, “You can use hydrogen peroxide for mouth ulcers. Journal of Pharmaceutical Research A solution of half hydrogen peroxide and half water is recommended.”
However, some scientists disagree. National Institutes of Health “However, some experts suggest that this substance may be harmful to oral tissues, especially if the tissues have been previously damaged. The findings of this study suggest that oral hygiene techniques that emphasize the use of 3% hydrogen peroxide in the treatment of periodontal disease should be reevaluated.”
Should I use hydrogen peroxide to treat wounds?
WebMD states, “Using hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol to clean a wound can damage tissue and slow healing. The best way to clean minor wounds is with cool running water and mild soap.”
According to City MD, you should be careful when using hydrogen peroxide as a disinfectant: “Hydrogen peroxide has been a popular way to clean cuts and scrapes for years. But while it kills bacteria, it can also harm cells essential for wound healing.”
Our skin and tissues contain cells called fibroblasts that play a key role in healing. Applying hydrogen peroxide to a wound can damage these fibroblasts and the bacteria in them, meaning that while it kills bacteria, it can also slow down healing. It’s your body’s natural healing process.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Web MD and City MD via email requesting a statement.
Follow Stop hurting yourself.. 😅#emergency room #Physician Assistant #Emergency medical care ♬ Original Sound – rach the pa
Viewers’ reactions
In the comments of the video, @Translator “I’ve never fully trusted hydrogen peroxide,” he wrote.
Another viewer said they used the solution sparingly: “I’ve only ever used hydrogen peroxide if I got a cut on a potentially dirty surface, outdoors, etc.,” they said. “I had no idea anyone used it daily to clean wounds.”
Regarding canker sores, one viewer commented, “My mom’s a dental hygienist and she says that wounds inside the mouth are the fastest to heal. If you leave it alone, it will heal in a day or two.”
Rachel agreed: “Yes! This is why we rarely need stitches in the mouth anymore.”
And in a totally “awful” moment, one commenter claimed: “A patient inserted it in their eye today.”
Rachel responded: “I Debrox He complained of eye discomfort on several occasions.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Latch via email and TikTok Messenger for further comment.
Internet culture is a mess, but we’ll give you the lowdown every day via email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter. hereWe deliver the best (and worst) of the Internet straight to your inbox.
