A mother in Indiana is being accused of giving her daughter bleach to cure her autism. She was able to make the bleach mixture by combining hydrochloric acid and a chlorine-based water purifying solution. Her husband says that she found the cure for autism online.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department filed a report on the case.
Autism Cure
There is no cure for autism, but there are various cures online that don't work. The woman's husband says that she found the cure for autism on a Facebook group. She called the mixture the "miracle mineral solution."
IMPD has referred the case to the Department of Child Services. It is currently investigating the case and removed the daughter from the home. The "miracle mineral solution" is nothing more than bleach produced by combining drops of hydrochloric acid and a chlorine-based water purifying solution that was added to the child's drink.
This isn't the first time that bleach has been cited as a cure for autism. Things became so bad that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had to issue a warning about the dangers of the miracle mineral solution.
People who have taken the miracle mineral solution have experienced severe nausea, vomiting, and life-threatening low blood pressure from dehydration. The FDA says that when used as directed, it produces an industrial bleach that's harmful to health.
"The product instructs consumers to mix the 28 percent sodium chlorite solution with an acid such as citrus juice," says the FDA's warning about the miracle mineral solution. "This mixture produces chlorine dioxide, a potent bleach used for stripping textiles and industrial water treatment. High oral doses of this bleach, such as those recommended in the labeling, can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and symptoms of severe dehydration."
Besides autism, this bleach drink has made claims that it can cure other illnesses. Online, it says it can cure HIV, hepatitis, H1N1, common colds, acne, and cancer. This drink has not been shown to treat any diseases and is harmful to people.
The National Autistic Society in the UK had to put out a statement after there were reports that the cure was being used by parents in the UK. It makes it known that there is no scientific evidence that this product cures autism.
"Autism is a lifelong condition," says the NAS in a statement about cures for autism. "There is no 'cure' and the idea of aiming to 'cure' autism is often deeply upsetting for people on the autism spectrum and their families, who see autism as a part of themselves or their loved ones."
