Javier Firpo
08/16/2020 - 15:02
- Clarín.com
- Society
"Stop prohibiting so much that I can no longer disobey everything . " On Thursday, August 6, Viviana Canosa said goodbye to her night program "Nada personal" with that phrase on a card. She then took a drink from a bottle next to her and said it was CDS (chlorine dioxide). " I'm going to have a drink, I don't recommend but I show you what I do ." She took, winked, raised her right thumb and said see you tomorrow.
From then on a barrage of controversies was generated in relation to this substance also known as "miracle mineral supplement". In most Latin American countries, many Facebook and Instagram pages promote chlorine dioxide (CDS: Chlorine Dioxide Solution) arguing that it would prevent and even cure diseases such as covid, cancer, hepatitis, pneumonia, prostate and even mouth problems.
What is chlorine dioxide? "It is a chemical product that can be prepared in solution from sodium chlorite and hydrochloric acid. This substance can be used as a disinfectant or bleach in the textile or paper industry," explains doctor Alejandro Macías. "It is absurd to use it as it is being done and your health is put at risk if you take a high dose ," adds this toxicologist and professor of Microbiology, who works at the University of California.
In the past 48 hours, two chlorine dioxide-related deaths brought the issue back into focus. On Friday, that of a man from Jujuy, 50 years old, from the town of San Pedro. And on Saturday that of a 5-year-old boy, from Plottier, in Neuquén. In both cases, the reasons for the deaths are being investigated.
In the local media "Jujuy al día", Gloria Ríos, the deceased's sister, stated: "She had the symptoms of the coronavirus, in her desperation to be cured, she took chlorine dioxide. No one forced her but she made the decision after seeing a video that said that cured the coronavirus . ”Ríos explained that his brother“ contacted the person promoting chlorine dioxide on Facebook , bought it, took it and ended up dying. My brother paid around $ 5,000 for a vial of chlorine dioxide that took him to death. "
The 5-year-old boy died "as a result of a cardiorespiratory arrest, after consuming chlorine dioxide diluted in water," according to the Ministry of Health of the province of Neuquén after learning that the relatives themselves made it known that the child had ingested CDS the night before . According to the doctor Rafael Palomino, in charge of the health center that cared for the minor, stated: “We cannot assure that it is directly related to the cause of death, but it is an important antecedent because chlorine dioxide is toxic both to renal level, as cardiac , for blood, digestive.
The National Administration of Medicines and Medical Technology (ANMAT) issued a statement in which it states: "Due to the circulation of information on social networks and digital media related to the use of chlorine dioxide for the treatment of COVID-19 or other diseases It is recalled that the aforementioned product does not have studies that demonstrate its effectiveness and does not have any authorization from this body for its commercialization and use ".
Almost simultaneously, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) launched another statement in which it remarks not to use chlorine dioxide or sodium chlorite-based products orally in patients with suspected or diagnosed Covid-19, or in any another case, because there is no evidence on their efficacy and the ingestion or inhalation of these products could cause serious adverse effects ”.
And this Saturday, due to the death of the boy in Neuquén, the Argentine Pediatric Society (SAP) and the Ministry of Health of the Nation warned about the risks of taking the CDS. However, "there is a rift between the doctors, more than one," says Eleonora Cunto, head of intensive care at the Muñiz Hospital. "Why? Because there are doctors who are in favor, I have found out that they prescribe chlorine dioxide, a substance that I discovered two months ago. But this treatment is not accepted or endorsed ."
Cunto says that "it is a toxic substance, which can cause irreparable damage such as liver and lung disorders and digestive disorders ." He learned of a patient who "is taking it, although I recommended that he stop, or submit a protocol about his experience to the ANMAT to be tested, endorsed and approved. But he did not."
Eduardo Brandes, in a Facebook image, in which in a video that went viral asks for the "union of doctors to demand a clinical trial of chlorine dioxide."
The doctor Eduardo Brandes, through a video that went viral in recent days, made an appeal to his colleagues in which he asked them " not to be cowards ." And he claims "the support of my colleagues, a medical group and a hospital to be able to protocolize chlorine dioxide, which is something that has no economic value but we are convinced that the medical industry is against it, as are many politicians."
In the video, the doctor whose registration number is 70,715 asks the medical community to contact him via email. "We can achieve success as well as failure. I know that I am messing with a giant and powerful, but I do not care, I am not afraid, I have the support of my family, which is the most important thing. What can happen to me? Maybe A few years ahead my going to the cemetery ... I am 60 years old, I enjoyed life ".
"CDS can be so useful ... We are talking about a product that can be produced in a very easy and economical way for the entire population . This is serious, it is not about making a big deal about medicine. It is essential that doctors unite, that we are rebels, this is the moment, "he adds.
In communication with Clarín , Brandes refers to "a scientific dictatorship and a university education marked by the pharmaceutical industry" and describes as "illogical and surprising how colleagues, many of whom I know, are against carrying out clinical studies and trials with chlorine dioxide. How can there be so much vehemence against something that was not studied? "
Many consumers and many vendors manufacture it in two stages learned in tutorials.
"With a couple of doses is enough, the CDS serves to alleviate the pain from that tumor, I will give you a pdf of the protocol of how it should be used," recommends Silvio, one of the many unreliable CDS sellers that populate Internet pages. The mentioned pdf is nothing more than a "copy paste" of a link that explains how to prepare chlorine dioxide. "Let me know where you are and I'll take it to you", proposes the seller. The display on Facebook just by typing "buy chlorine dioxide" is striking and offers range from $ 500 to $ 2,000 for a half-liter bottle.
"The CDS is prepared by a friend to whom I have the greatest confidence and he is the best, " Fito introduces himself. "The half-liter bottle costs 1,500 pesos, how many do you want?" When asked about the controversy generated by its sale, circulation and consumption, Fito does not hesitate: "Television lies, instills fears and lies. CDS is good, it does not hurt but it is easy to discredit it . It is verifying that it alkalizes the body and oxygenates the organism".
Packed up and upset, Fito, who lives in Avellaneda, insists on taking the product home against prior payment by card or bank transfer. "CDS is very good, it has many properties: in addition to curing, it prevents other diseases and ailments."
The yellow hue of one of the products that are traded in the illegal market.
Franco lives in Villa Urquiza and is convinced of the efficacy of clear dioxide. "I buy the raw material, I learned to prepare it through the tutorial that is on the internet, I consume it for prevention and I have been selling it for more than a year . I have clients who are very happy and who have contacted me with others who started taking it. Why is it not legalized? Because pharmaceutical companies are ending their business . "
Franco laughs about the reasons for the death of a man from the town of San Pedro, in Jujuy, which the media reported. " Stop fucking me, it is impossible for me to die from the consumption of CDS , simply because it is harmless for the body, unless you take it pure."
Internet inquiries asking if the CDS is useful for this or that pathology, the number of non-professional responses (suggestions and recommendations), the Facebook groups subscribing to the supposed benefits of the product and the versatility of offers attract attention. "The prices are 200 ml, $ 700; 1/2 liter, $ 1,400 and a liter, $ 2,200. We send you a 10 ml syringe to measure the CDS. If you live in CABA, the transfer is free," says Tano, who adds. "Once the product is delivered to you, we pass on all the information by WhatsApp so that you can use it without problems." Apparently some have logistics.
Santiago Battiston works in systems at a multinational company, studied biochemistry and has been consuming and selling chlorine dioxide for six months. "I do it to help friends and acquaintances, but it is not my way of life or anything like it. I am convinced of the efficacy of the product and I drink it to prevent it and I inform whoever asks me, I do not recommend or I impose nothing, I only explain what it consists of, "he explains.
Santiago Battiston, 40 years old, works in a multinational company and has been consuming and selling chlorine dioxide for 6 months. "I do it to help friends and acquaintances, it is not my work environment."
Battiston, 40, a resident of the northern area, says that since taking CDS "I never bought medicines again, I don't need them at all, I didn't get sick , nor did I catch the flu. I even had an oral problem that I was able to solve with carbon dioxide. carbon".
" It is very cheap and it is a cure, not a treatment, the CDS does what no medicine does: it eradicates the pathology , that is why the laboratories do not want to know anything, their business is ending, do you understand?", Says Battiston convinced, that take 10-12 servings a day.
Carlos Damín, a toxicologist at the Fernández Hospital, wonders: "If they say that it is so effective, why is it not authorized by any health ministry in the world? Each person is free to use it when they want and how they want but it does not seem prudent to do public on a television program, even if it was not a recommendation. Simply because it is not an approved drug for any disease. And it should not be marketed by any means, because it is not legal . "
Why is this sudden visibility of the "miraculous powers" of the CDS? "I think it has to do with the moment we are going through in Argentina, where there is a high rate of infections, a high number of deaths and there is a lot of fear, and that fear leads you to cling to whatever it is . And it is a danger not to measure the damages that its ingestion can cause ".
Omar Lambertini, 70 years old. "I started taking it for my prostate and in a few days I began to feel a noticeable improvement, and I stopped taking the remedies that the urologist prescribed," says the biochemist.
Omar Lambertini, a biochemist, and his daughter Alejandra, a Pilates instructor, are among those who defend the CDS tooth and nail. "Before I started taking it I found out what it was about, I studied the protocol and decided to take it once I learned how to do it, because I had everything to gain and nothing to lose, and the medications I was taking for my prostate did not improve almost anything. Since July 20, I stopped the medication that I had prescribed and now I only take between 8 and 10 sips per day and can say that I am much better, "says Lambertini.
Lambertini, 70, is convinced that "the CDS is being thrown down because it is an economic interest , since its dissemination would alarm the millions that move the laboratories and would put in check 80 percent of the medicines produced by the pharmaceutical industry Here they talk about a miraculous substance, none of that, it is not a metaphysical issue, the CDS is a substance that oxygenates the cells and sweeps away toxins ".
