Borax-drinking TikTok trend slammed: ‘You’re not a washing machine’
Global News
The TikTok trend involves the ingestion of borax, a common cleaning and bleaching agent. But health experts are warning about the dangers behind this.
Borax, a versatile household cleaner, finds its place as a laundry detergent, a pesticide for ants and cockroaches and even a weed killer. But some social media users are also trying to promote it for questionable and potentially harmful uses, such as adding it to water or coffee and bathing in it.
TikTok users posting videos of themselves ingesting borax have falsely claimed it can help treat of range ailments, including inflammation, joint pain, kidney stones, chronic fatigue and erectile dysfunction.
“You’re not a washing machine. There’s no evidence this is going to help you, but still, you see these trends take off and it is completely driven by the power of social media,” Timothy Caulfield, Canada Research Chair in health law and policy at the University of Alberta, told Global News.
“When I first saw this, it became immediately obvious that this was another ridiculous trend, another potentially harmful trend, and another example of how we need to continue to debunk misinformation as it emerges.”
Borax is a chemical compound commonly found in household cleaners. The powder is a combination of boron, sodium, oxygen and hydrogen, and has been banned from food products in Canada and the United States.
On TikTok, some users say that adding a bit of borax to their water or coffee can work wonders, like helping with osteoporosis. Some even claim that taking a borax bath can detoxify the body.
But there’s nothing to support any of the health claims. In fact, experts stress that ingesting significant amounts of household chemicals can be very harmful.
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