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FalseHealthLast updated: January 15, 2025

MMS / Chlorine Dioxide as Medicine

Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS) is a mixture of sodium chlorite and acid that produces chlorine dioxide, an industrial bleaching agent, when prepared as directed. The FDA, Health Canada, the European Commission, Medsafe New Zealand, and other regulatory bodies warn that ingesting MMS is equivalent to drinking bleach, has caused hospitalizations and deaths, and has no scientific evidence of efficacy for any medical condition.

What we know

MMS was promoted from the 2000s onward, primarily by Jim Humble, who claimed that chlorine dioxide when ingested could cure malaria, cancer, HIV/AIDS, autism, COVID-19, and dozens of other conditions. The product is sold as a liquid containing 28% sodium chlorite in water; when combined with an acid (citric or hydrochloric acid), the mixture produces chlorine dioxide, a powerful oxidizing agent used industrially for water treatment and bleaching textiles and paper.

The FDA first issued warnings against MMS in 2010 and has repeatedly reiterated them, most recently during the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency states it is not aware of any scientific evidence supporting the safety or effectiveness of MMS products for any use. Analysis of adverse event reports from US poison control centers (2000-2020) documented 53 cases of chlorine dioxide toxicity, including methemoglobinemia (reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of blood), QT prolongation, life-threatening hypotension, acute liver failure, and hemolytic anemia requiring blood transfusion. Thirteen patients were hospitalized.

In 2023, leaders of the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, the primary organization distributing MMS in the United States, were convicted after a federal prosecution by the US Department of Justice for manufacturing, promoting, and selling MMS as a COVID-19 treatment despite FDA warnings. Courts in multiple countries have banned its sale or prosecuted distributors.

The misinformation risk is categorized as high because MMS is actively promoted to parents for use in children, including as a purported 'autism treatment' administered in high concentrations as enemas, and because patients with serious diseases may forego effective treatment in favor of a substance that has been documented to cause serious harm.

Common claims

  • MMS cures cancer, HIV, malaria, and autism.False. No published clinical trial evidence exists. The FDA and other regulators state they are not aware of any scientific evidence supporting MMS for any medical condition.
  • MMS is a safe water purification product used to treat disease.False. At concentrations used for alleged medical treatments it is an industrial bleach. Ingestion causes severe vomiting, diarrhea, liver failure, and other life-threatening effects.
  • Vomiting after MMS is a sign it is working (detoxing the body).False. Vomiting is a symptom of acute poisoning. No detoxification mechanism explains this symptom.

Evidence hierarchy

01Danger: Don't Drink Miracle Mineral Solution, FDAFDA consumer warning stating that MMS is equivalent to drinking bleach, not approved for any use, and has caused serious adverse events including liver failure.02Conviction of Genesis II Church Leaders, FDA/DOJUS DOJ press release documenting federal conviction of MMS distributors for selling toxic bleach as a COVID-19 and general cure-all.03Harmful Effects of Chlorine Dioxide Exposure, PMCClinical Toxicology (2020) analysis of 53 US poison center cases documenting acute toxicity from chlorine dioxide / MMS ingestion, including hospitalizations.04Medsafe: Potentially Fatal Adverse Effects with Miracle Mineral SolutionNew Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority warning published in Reactions Weekly (2020).

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