What is chlorine dioxide, and is it a safe and effective cure or treatment for multiple health ailments, including childhood autism and COVID-19 infection? No, that's not true: Chlorine dioxide is a gaseous chemical that makes a bleach-like substance when added to water. The highly reactive chemical is used as a cleaning agent and can be fatal if ingested. Even so, chlorine dioxide has been fraudulently presented as a treatment for several diseases. Health experts agree that ingesting or internally using chlorine dioxide outside of approved methods has no health benefits and can result in adverse health outcomes, including death. Furthermore, researchers have concluded that misinformation surrounding chlorine dioxide consumption "is a public health risk."
A video posted to Instagram on February 17, 2025, suggested that chlorine dioxide, or "CDS," can reverse the "crazy side effects" of COVID-19 vaccines. The post caption read:
M83 and CDS can clean all the way down to your DNA!! Scientifically proven!!
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This is how the post appeared at the time of writing:
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken Tue Feb 18 07:59:05 2025 UTC)
The video in the post included a dubbed-over clip first shared to Facebook on June 10, 2023, titled "Cds."
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says ingesting or internally using chlorine dioxide outside of specific supervised instances has no benefits and should not be done.
Experts writing in a 2022 study noted (archived here) that misinformation surrounding chlorine dioxide consumption "is a public health risk." Such consumption is not a proven safe or effective treatment and can result in adverse reactions.
What is chlorine dioxide?
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry describes (archived here) chlorine dioxide as a yellow to reddish-yellow manufactured gas that does not occur naturally in the environment. Diluted to .1 part per million, it can safely disinfect drinking water, but should not be consumed otherwise, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Chlorine dioxide is a type of bleach that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention writes (archived here) is highly reactive and can be "used as a bleach at pulp mills, which make paper and paper products, and in public water-treatment facilities, to make water safe for drinking. It has also been used to decontaminate public buildings."
When added to water, chlorine dioxide can form chlorite (archived here), another very reactive chemical.
Ingesting chlorine dioxide can result in serious health consequences
Chemical Safety Facts, a website that compiles information on various chemicals, writes (archived here) that claims that chlorine dioxide is a treatment or cure for medical ailments or diseases are "not backed by science."
The Georgia Department of Public Health issued an alert (archived here) for ingesting chlorine dioxide, some products of which have been marketed under names like MSS, Miracle Mineral Solution, Master Mineral Solution, Water Purification Solution, CDS, Aqueous Chlorine Dioxide and others. Ingesting chlorine dioxide products can lead to:
- Respiratory failure
- Potentially fatal abnormal heart rhythms
- Life-threatening low blood pressure caused by dehydration
- Acute liver failure
- Low blood cell counts
- Severe vomiting
- Severe diarrhea
Health experts have warned against these products for more than a decade
The FDA has warned consumers about ingesting these products since 2010 (archived here). In 2019, the regulatory agency again warned consumers not to buy or drink products containing chlorine dioxide promoted on social media as "a remedy for treating autism, cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and flu, among other conditions." When mixed, it "develops into a dangerous bleach which has caused serious and potentially life-threatening side effects."
In April 2020, former FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn wrote in an agency press release (archived here):
Despite previous warnings, the FDA is concerned that we are still seeing chlorine dioxide products being sold with misleading claims that they are safe and effective for the treatment of diseases, now including COVID-19. The sale of these products can jeopardize a person's health and delay proper medical treatment.
We continue to take action and keep up our efforts to monitor for fraudulent treatments during this public health emergency and remind the public to seek medical help from their health care providers.
Chlorine dioxide products are not proven safe and effective for any use. Websites that sell these products typically describe (archived here) them as:
... a liquid that is 28% sodium chlorite in distilled water. Product directions instruct consumers to mix the sodium chlorite solution with citric acid - such as lemon or lime juice - or another acid - such as hydrochloric acid - before drinking. In many instances, the sodium chlorite is sold as part of a kit with a citric acid 'activator.' When the acid is added, the mixture becomes chlorine dioxide, a powerful bleaching agent that has caused serious and potentially life-threatening side effects.
There is also no cure for autism (archived here), and chlorine dioxide products that have been marketed for these advertised uses "have not been proven safe and effective."
Spotting falsely promoted cures and treatments
The FDA lists the following tips for identifying false or misleading health claims:
Be suspicious of products that claim to treat a wide range of diseases.
Personal testimonials are no substitute for scientific evidence.
Few diseases or conditions can be treated quickly, so be suspicious of any therapy claimed as a 'quick fix.'
So-called 'miracle cures,' which claim scientific breakthroughs or contain secret ingredients, are likely a hoax.
Read more:
Many other reputable media outlets have reported on the harmful effects of consuming chlorine dioxide, including Reuters, USA Today, The New York Times and NBC News.
A full toxicological profile for chlorine dioxide and chlorite was published in 2004 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and can be read here (archived here).
Other Lead Stories fact checks involving claims about chlorine dioxide can be read here.
Lead Stories debunks involving health-related claims can be read here.
