223
submitted 2 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Doesn't hydrogen peroxide just degrade into water and oxygen? How is it harmful?

[-] [email protected] 4 points 20 hours ago

Swallowing it can make you very sick, yet it’s a safe and effective mouthwash if you have gum disease, or any other infection.

Best to just play it safe and rinse with warm salt water.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

when it spontaneously degrades, yes, it turns into tame water and healthy oxygen, but when it touches organic matter (your skin, tongue, mouth, etc) the oxygen directly reacts with the carbon atoms to make CO2, effectively "burning" away your tissues very slowly.

Usually, you don't notice that because you use store-bought 3% peroxide, but chemists regularly use the much more powerful 35% peroxide, which gives you nasty burns

peroxide burn

also, fun fact, some cells produce hydrogen peroxide as a waste product, so nature has evolved the catalase enzyme to break it down, and that's why you see bubbling when using it on a scar but not on skin, because that enzyme is only inside you and your blood

[-] [email protected] 1 points 20 hours ago

I see, so oxygen is leached much faster and causes damage via hyperoxidation. Thank you for the writeup!

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)
[-] [email protected] 3 points 20 hours ago

Yup. That’s basically it. The article creates an unrealistic gradation to compare against its definition of what’s healthy.

Processed meat is completely healthy, eating it every day for prolonged periods of time, not so much.

Hydrogen peroxide mouthwash? Totally safe! As a beverage? Not so much.

this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2025
223 points (86.1% liked)

science

20058 readers
781 users here now

A community to post scientific articles, news, and civil discussion.

rule #1: be kind

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS