Social media challenges are best to be avoided especially when it involves shoving cleaning products into your mouth. Common sense isn’t always that common.
TikTok users have started adding a pinch of Borax to their drinking water to reduce inflammation and detoxify the body. Influencers claim Borax is a good way to clear brain fog but medical experts are debunking the circulating myth.
Borax, a powdery cleaning product that is used with laundry detergents, contains boron which is an element commonly found in dietary supplements. Even though it’s becoming a viral trend to intake these chemicals, experts say Borax doesn’t offer any health benefits.
“Borax is a chemical that contains the element boron. Borax and boric acid are used in disinfectants, and ant and roach killers,” Dr. Kelly Johnson-Arbor, a medical toxicology physician and co-medical director at the National Capital Poison Center, said. “Borax consumption has been recently popularized on TikTok as a way to treat inflammation, but Borax is actually a poisonous compound and should never be eaten.”
None of the Borax products are approved as dietary ingredients or pharmaceuticals. They should not be consumed since they can lead to “headaches, hypothermia, restlessness, weariness, renal injury, dermatitis, alopecia and indigestion.” People who try the challenge and feel abnormal side effects are strongly urged to go to their local poison control centers.
“Current manufacturing practices and guidelines make Borax ingestion highly dangerous,” Dr. Robert S. Miller, an internal medicine specialist, said. “Limited data is available to support a standardized normal level of Borax that people should consume, and current FDA guidelines do not recommend Borax as a food additive.”
Wendy Stephan, an epidemiologist at the Florida Poison Information Center, said that she understands why people are tempted to try these sensational viral health remedies. People want quick solutions and doctors are usually overbooked and prescription drugs aren’t always readily available.
“When there’s somebody who seems very personable and credible telling you that ‘this worked great for me and it’s great,’ I can see how people find that appealing,” she said.
Despite the appeal and attention, stay away from Borax since it could be more harmful than helpful.