An incognito Facebook user advises to drink or inject hydrogen peroxide  after getting vaccinated to “wash” the veins from the vaccine. This information is wrong. The internal use of hydrogen peroxide is not permitted and can be dangerous.

An unknown user was urging readers to drink hydrogen peroxide

Facebook user Asta Aria’s post with 120 shares claimed that hydrogen peroxide “can be taken not only orally, but also intravenously, mixed with saline.”

According to the user, this should be done after receiving the coronavirus vaccine, because the vaccine turns people into “controllable robots” and it is necessary to “wash” the veins. Asta Aria even advised drinking hydrogen peroxide prophylactically – you never know, you might get vaccinated in the future.

The conspiracy theory of the vaccine turning humans into robots has nothing to do with reality. Media.am has already covered this misinformation in detail.

Asta Aria is an encrypted account, it is not known who the user who runs it is, there are no photos of them, there is also no information about their profession. They have previously spread misinformation that the famous actor Robert de Niro made a “forbidden” film about the harms of vaccines. This information was checked by independent fact-checkers and was recognized as false by Facebook.

Hydrogen peroxide is for external use only

Hydrogen peroxide is a disinfectant. It is often used at home to disinfect wounds. However, although this practice is common, it is not very safe. Hydrogen peroxide can destroy and damage not only harmful organisms on the skin but also healthy skin cells. Moreover, some manufacturers state that its ability to kill harmful microorganisms is only temporary.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers hydrogen peroxide safe for use on non-living surfaces. The Health Ministry notes that hydrogen peroxide can damage the living cell membrane, its DNA, and other vital components of the cell.

The Ministry of Health of Armenia observed hydrogen peroxide in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic as a disinfectant for various non-living surfaces (in public food establishments, public transport, etc.).

❗ It is important to use medication exactly as instructed. Instructions for use of hydrogen peroxide are strictly for external, topical application.

?‍⚕️Naira Stepanyan, Deputy Medical Director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases, told Media.am that the use of hydrogen peroxide through drinking or injection contradicts all the rules of medicine. “I understand that it is the anti-vax movement and users can make many such statements, but no serious doctor or organization will ever give such advice,” Stepanyan said. “Of course I know that in many cases, even before COVID, in the cases of some inflammatory diseases a patient may come and say, ‘I was prescribed intravenous hydrogen peroxide and I got it.’ That is a very gross mistake.”

Even in the case of a weak solution, according to Stepanyan, we cannot say that hydrogen peroxide will not be dangerous․ “It is a solution intended for topical use. No one can say, for example, what changes it can bring to the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract in the form of ingestion, let alone in the form of injection.”

Russian professor’s misinformation on Armenian social networks

Russian physician Ivan Neumyvakin was actively promoting the ability of hydrogen peroxide to work miracles. The user Asta Aria was referring to his videos in the comments of their post.

During the Soviet era, Neumyvakin was a researcher, but in the last years of his life, he became interested in “alternative” medicine, spreading various unproven or incorrect pieces of information. He advised drinking a weak solution of hydrogen peroxide and insisted that hydrogen peroxide can be applied to the neck and in five minutes any pain will pass – heart, liver, pancreas, etc. Moreover, Neumyvakin announced that this disinfectant would help get rid of foot fungus. All these claims contradict the data on the proven effect of hydrogen peroxide and the instructions for use.

Thus, the information that hydrogen peroxide should be drunk or injected after vaccination is not true. This statement contradicts the scientific evidence on hydrogen peroxide and can be harmful to health.

Karine Ghazaryan