FDA warns consumers not to use 'Miracle Mineral Solution,' calling it similar to drinking bleach

Waldemarus/iStock(WASHINGTON) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning against the use of a product sold online as a medical treatment purporting to treat a number of conditions including HIV/AIDS, cancer and autism.

According to an FDA press release, the products are sold as Miracle or Master Mineral Solution, Miracle Mineral Supplement, MMS, Chlorine Dioxide Protocol or Water Purification System. These products, and other similar products, develop into a dangerous bleach when mixed, causing serious and potentially life-threatening side effects.

Miracle Mineral Solution is not approved by the FDA for any use, but have been promoted on social media as a remedy for a number of conditions.

"Consumers should not use these products, and parents should not give these products to their children for any reason," FDA Acting Commissioner Ned Sharpless, M.D. says.

"Our top priority is to protect the public from products that place their health at risk," Sharpless adds. "We will send a strong and clear message that these products have the potential to cause serious harm."

MMS is described as 28 percent sodium chlorite in distilled water. Websites selling the product instruct users to mix the solution with citric acid before drinking. The FDA explains that when the solution mixes with citric acid, it becomes chlorine dioxide, a powerful bleaching agent.

There have been multiple reports of consumers experiencing severe vomiting, diarrhea, life-threatening low blood pressure, dehydration and acute liver failure after drinking these products. Anyone who experienced any ill effects after ingesting MMS should seek immediate medical attention, according to the FDA.

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