DEAR DR. GOTT: I’m a 79-year-old women and don’t want to go to the doctor because I don’t want to be found senile. For the first and only time I poured a splash of hydrogen peroxide into a water glass for gargling the next morning. Then, hurrying to get to church, I drank the water. Oops! I then drank lots of water and milk. I still drink lots of water but seem to taste the peroxide occasionally from my breath.
DEAR READER: In my opinion, 79 isn’t old so your physician shouldn’t consider you to be senile for making one simple mistake while in a rush. We all get forgetful at times, whether we are 29 or 89. It’s a situation I prefer to refer to as overloaded circuits, rather than the early stages of senility. I would hope your physician wouldn’t think you are a doddering old woman who cannot function properly without outside help based on this incident alone. So, on with your concern.
Known as the chemical compound H2O2, hydrogen peroxide appears to be yet another cure-all for everything from cleaning counter tops to fighting fungal infections of the skin or nails. The average bottle contains from 3 to 10% peroxide, while higher concentrations of 30% or greater found in health food stores or cleaning supply companies are used commercially as bleaching agents for textiles and paper, for producing foam rubber, organic chemicals, and the 90% form used as a component of rocket fuel. The 35% “food grade” type is used in the production of such things as cheese, egg, and whey-containing products. H2O2 is also sprayed on the foil linings of aseptic packages that contain fruit juices and milk products.
There are instances where full-strength peroxide can be used successfully in the home, to include washing down a kitchen counter or wooden cutting board and for soaking toothbrushes. When kept in a dark bottle in the absence of light and contamination, it breaks down at a rate of about 10% each year. Therefore, if a bottle remains in your house under ideal conditions for several years, it is essentially still good, albeit not totally as powerful as it was a year or two prior.
My guess is that you likely purchased a 3% solution that, for most purposes, should be diluted with an equal amount of water. Higher concentrations taken by mouth or through injection into veins can be dangerous. For example, drinking “food grade” hydrogen peroxide can result in vomiting and severe burns of the throat and stomach. The product is odorless and colorless but not tasteless. Your note doesn’t indicate you suffered any unpleasant side effects, other than the perception of still tasting it. The splash you put in a drinking glass (with or without water?) likely did no harm. Once realizing your mistake, you took appropriate precautions to dilute the solution. This was certainly a good learning experience that you won’t likely repeat in the near future.
Even if you were to advise your physician today, the incident is more than six weeks behind you. Hopefully the taste sensation will diminish soon and you can get on with the more important things in your life, like getting to church on time.
Readers who may be interested in other household hints can order my Health Reports “Compelling Home Remedies” and “More Compelling Home Remedies” by sending a self-addressed, stamped number 10 envelope and $2 US or money order for each report ordered to my attention at PO Box 433, Lakeville, CT 06039. Be sure to mention the title(s) when writing or print out an order form from my website www.AskDrGottMD.com.
