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A woman went viral after revealing in a video that her daughter was rushed to the hospital and intubated after she suffered from bleach inhalation while cleaning the bathroom.
Jana Watson, or @nursejana, posted the video to TikTok where it received more than 2.2 million views and 1,600 comments since February 26 and prompted a discussion on the dangers of common household cleaners.
"1st time cleaning bathroom with bleach!" the caption of the video read.
In the video, Watson showed a photo of her daughter Avery intubated in a hospital bed with a popular TikTok audio playing in the background.
"Yup, that's me," the popular audio said as another photo showed an intubated Watson being loaded into an ambulance on a stretcher. "You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation."
Watson then showed a photo of the cleaning spray her daughter was using when she accidentally inhaled the fumes. The bottle she showed was the Clorox Clean-Up Cleaner + Bleach Fresh Scent, which uses Sodium hypochlorite as a chemical oxidizing agent rather than chlorine.
Inhaling high levels of both chlorine and Sodium hypochlorite can lead to fluid build-up in the lungs, also called pulmonary edema.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, symptoms of bleach inhalation can be felt within seconds of exposure. Common symptoms of bleach inhalation include wheezing, irritation in the throat or airway, and chest tightness.
In another video posted seven days ago, Watson showed footage of Avery struggling to breathe and heavily wheezing. She explained that Avery began coughing and was breathing with "stridor and laryngospasm," or the involuntary contraction of the muscle in the vocal folds.
In the video, Avery said it was easier to breathe through her mouth and that she had to be treated with nebulized racemic epinephrine–a medication designated for patients with moderate to severe respiratory distress.
After receiving an oxygen mask, Watson said Avery received an IV of epinephrine and she became sweaty, anxious, nauseous and "extremely uncomfortable."
An X-ray showed Avery had swelling behind the vocal cords and she was successfully intubated. Footage from the TikTok showed Avery fighting the ventilator while in the hospital bed. She was then transferred to a pediatric ICU where she remained intubated for 16 hours.
"Most expensive maid EVER!" the on-screen text read over a photo of Avery smiling in her hospital gown.
Watson explained that Avery did not keep the doors or windows open in the bathroom which led to poor ventilation and caused her to inhale the fumes.
"Caution with cleaning products, keep room ventilated, and windows and doors open," Watson suggested.
Thousands of users commented on Watson's viral TikToks, with many warning other users about the dangers of using and mixing particular cleaning products.
"PSA you can't use bleach and windex at the same time! It produces toxic fumes that can be fatal," one user warned.
"This is why I ONLY use white vinegar and dawn, & Mr. clean (yellow one) to disinfeect. Also stopped mixing products," another user commented.
Other users, though, sought comedic relief in the comments by cracking jokes about how you can avoid the dangers of cleaning products by not cleaning.
But some users thanked Watson for sharing her daughter's story and mentioned that they had no clue bleach inhalation could be so harmful until watching the TikTok.
Newsweek reached out to Jana Watson and Clorox but did not receive comment in time for publication.
About the writer
Samantha Berlin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on trends and human-interest stories. Samantha ... Read more