Image by Victor Tangermann

Reckitt Benckiser, the British company behind the cleaning product brands Lysol and Dettol, is urging customers not to consume its cleaning supplies after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested scientists should try to inject COVID patients with disinfectants.

No, we're not making this up.

In a statement, the company was forced to reiterate that Lysol wipes should not be on the menu.

"As a global leader in health and hygiene products, we must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route)," the company wrote.

Trump made a series of mind-boggling claims on Thursday about injecting cleaning products — and even UV light — into the human body, without basing any of them on any scientific evidence or even common sense.

"And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in one minute," Trump said, as quoted by CNN. "Is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning... it would be interesting to check that. It sounds interesting to me."

It's a delusional statement that may well cause some who don't know better to put themselves at risk — and at the worst time possible.

On Monday — days before Trump's rant — the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that poison center calls related to cleaners and disinfectants were up 20 percent over last year, which is likely related to fear of the coronavirus.


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DAN'S PIECE