Health alert! Online trend of drinking toxic borax is dangerous

^{By Eiddwen Jeffery}

Borax, a naturally occurring mineral compound commonly used in laundry powders and pesticides, is trending across social media as a new cure-all health tonic but health experts warn it can cause real harm if ingested. 

The dodgy health advice started on TikTok, with multiple video creators encouraging audiences to drink borax diluted in water for claimed health benefits ranging from treating arthritis to increasing libido. 

In one video shared on Facebook, a creator tells her audience that drinking borax is not toxic and claims it can “lower inflammation” and “fights candida, thrush, fungus, [and] yeast”. She also claims borax can offer pain relief, help arthritis symptoms and “balances out” male libido and female hormones. 

The video has been viewed 64,000 times and shared more than 1,400 times on Facebook. 

But borax, a salt-like substance composite of boron, sodium, oxygen and hydrogen, is classified by health authorities as a toxic substance that is not safe to ingest. Facebook posts claiming drinking borax as a cure-all is another example in a long list of internet health hoaxes.

The New South Wales food authority website states borax is a toxic substance that “poses unacceptable risk to human health when used in food”. 

According to the authority, symptoms of ingesting borax can include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and red eyes. In large doses it can also be lethal. 

Borax has also been found by the Australian Government to be a reproductive toxin, meaning it may “impair fertility” or cause harm to an unborn child. 

The chemical compound is classified as a poison by Australia’s medicine and therapeutic regulatory agency, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). 

The TGA classifies borax as a schedule 5 poison, meaning it can be used for domestic purposes but requires caution when being handled, used and stored. Borax is also listed as a schedule 4 poison meaning it is used in some prescription medicines. 

Dr Ian Musgrave, a pharmacologist and toxicologist at University of Adelaide, told RMIT FactLab in a telephone interview, that borax “can be used in some medications, but all in low concentrations”. 

Dr Musgrave said individuals should not eat or drink borax, and warned against self medication as inexact measurements could risk overexposure. 

"Toxicologists have a saying – it is the dose that makes the poison,” he said. “How much is the makeup of the chemical? How often are you taking it? Weighing out these small concentrations is really difficult and can risk being above the toxic threshold." 

Dr Musgrave said long-term sustained consumption of borax could also cause kidney damage. 

Many of the online posts claim that the purported health benefits of borax are due to its chemical element, boron. 

In one video posted to Facebook, the presenter claims borax is a “health supplement” as boron is essential for bone health. A separate Facebook post claims borax and boron “solves menstrual symptoms, cures urinary infections, enhances testosterone levels”.

Some studies suggest that boron may have medical applications but no clinical trials have evaluated the effects of boron on various illnesses. Dr Musgrave told FactLab: “Evidence that boron has any health benefits for the conditions mentioned on social media is scant and promotes intakes of borax that are potentially harmful.”

He pointed to one online example of misleading health advice that recommends eating borax to get a daily intake of 113 milligrams of boron which, he said, was “more than 20 times” the daily dose recommended by the TGA.

Dr Musgrave reiterated that borax is safe for external use with caution. “You do not need to walk around in HAZMAT gear, but it is recommended you wear gloves while using it," he said.