Old Wives' Tales Radio & TV Toxin du jour Claim: Hydrogen
peroxide will cure a variety of ailments. Example: [Collected on
the Internet, 2006] Origins: Hydrogen peroxide is a first aid
staple in many households, routinely used to disinfect small
wounds. Bottles of it are readily available at drug stores, with
the compound formulated for home use vended in dilute form of 3%
to 10%. Hydrogen peroxide also finds application as an
antiseptic gargle, a clothes and hair bleach, and an aid to ear
wax removal. A paste of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda is
used as a tooth scrub, and hydrogen peroxide is the major
component of any number of tooth-whitening products. Higher
concentrations (30% or greater) of hydrogen peroxide are used in
industry as a bleach for textiles and paper, as a component of
rocket fuels, and for producing foam rubber and organic
chemicals. Hydrogen peroxide in these strengths is dangerous for
the untrained to handle or come into contact with. Spills of
industrial-strength peroxide in transit