Woman Claims In Viral Video Cleaning With Bleach Disinfectant Landed Her In Hospital

A woman in Texas has claimed in a TikTok video that she ended up in a hospital after inhaling too much bleach, while trying to disinfect her toilet.

The TikTok user, identified as Jana Watson, reportedly used Clorox spray for the first time to clean her toilet. She then developed breathing difficulties, and was intubated.

Watson shared several photos and videos of her hospital trip in the post, captioning it as: "1st time cleaning bathroom with bleach!" The video quickly gained traction on the social media platform, gathering more than 2.7 million views to date.

The pictures shared in the post showed Watson being taken to the hospital in an ambulance and then intubated. Intubation is the process of inserting a flexible plastic tube inside a patient’s trachea to ensure an open airway is present, and/or to serve as a channel for administering certain drugs, according to WebMD.

In a follow-up video, Watson appeared to have trouble breathing, with her breaths sounding short, raspy, and painful, Daily Dot reported. Watson was eventually placed on a ventilator.

In the video, she cautioned her viewers to "keep room ventilated, and windows and doors open" when they were cleaning with bleach. Watson's current condition was not known.

Her posts were met with mixed responses from fellow TikTok users. Some comments had a touch of humor, while others revealed unique hacks for cleaning with a bleach spray. "Not me buying KN95 masks on Amazon now so I can continue using my toxic chemicals," one user joked, while another joked, "Not me cleaning my bathroom with this yesterday and not being able to breathe so I stuffed my nose with cotton."

"I always open the window or turn the fan on when cleaning with chemicals," said a third person.

Even as homes require deep cleaning to maintain hygiene, some users said Watson's condition evoked fear of bleaches in them. "I knew it, housework is bad for your health!!" one person joked. "This is why I don’t clean," said another.

Inhaling high levels of both chlorine and sodium hypochlorite can lead to fluid build-up in the lungs, a condition medically referred to as pulmonary edema. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said a person might feel irritation in the throat or airway or shortness of breath within seconds of bleach inhalation. To avoid the problem, CDC recommends opening windows and doors to allow for adequate ventilation, while cleaning with bleach.

International Business Times has reached out to Clorox for a comment.