Lysol Explained

Lysol
Type:Disinfectant, all-purpose cleaners
Currentowner:Reckitt
Origin:United States
Related:Dettol (Sagrotan)
Markets:United States, Canada, Europe, India (as Lizol), Philippines, Mexico and Chile
Previousowners:Lehn & Fink (later subsidiary of Sterling Drug)
Tagline:"Healthing"

Lysol (; spelled Lizol in India[1]) is a brand of American cleaning and disinfecting products distributed by Reckitt, which markets the similar Dettol or Sagrotan in other markets. The line includes liquid solutions for hard and soft surfaces, air treatment, and hand washing. The active ingredient in many Lysol products is benzalkonium chloride, but the active ingredient in the Lysol "Power and Free" line is hydrogen peroxide. Lysol has been used since its invention in the late 19th century as a household and industrial cleaning agent, and previously as a medical disinfectant.

History

The first Lysol Brand Antiseptic Disinfectant was introduced in 1889 by Gustav Raupenstrauch to help end a cholera epidemic happening in Germany. The original formulation of Lysol contained cresols.[2] This formulation may still be available commercially in some parts of the world.[3] Formulations containing chlorophenol are still available in the United Kingdom.[4]

In 1911, poisoning by drinking Lysol was the most common means of suicide in Australia and New York.[5] One of the active ingredients, benzalkonium chloride, is highly toxic to fish (LC50 = 280 μg ai/L), very highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates (LC50 = 5.9 μg ai/L), moderately toxic to birds (LD50 = 136 mg/kg-bw), and slightly toxic ("safe") to mammals (LD50 = 430 mg/kg-bw).[6]

Use during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic

In 1918, during the Spanish flu pandemic, Lehn & Fink, Inc. advertised Lysol disinfectant as an effective countermeasure to the influenza virus. Newspaper advertisements provided tips for preventing the spread of the disease, including washing sick-rooms with Lysol, as well as everything that came in contact with patients. A small (US50¢) bottle made of disinfectant solution, and a smaller (US25¢) bottle made . The company also advertised the "unrefined" Lysol F. & F. (Farm & Factory) for use in factories and other large buildings – a 5gal can, when diluted as directed, made of disinfecting solution.[7]

Use as a contraceptive

The Lysol disinfectant douche once was "the leading feminine hygiene product"[8] in the United States. Advertisements for Lysol during the 1930s hinted at its use as a contraceptive but never explicitly promoted it to be used as such. Advertisements did note that Lysol was safe to use including on "delicate female tissues". By 1911, 193 Lysol poisonings were recorded along with five deaths from "uterine irrigation".[9]

Lysol ads also included recommendations from female gynecologists that Lysol would resolve women's marital distress through the practice of complete feminine hygiene and resolve fears of pregnancy for married women. Douching with Lysol disinfectant does not prevent pregnancy and can result in undesirable vaginal health outcomes as well as has resulted in death for some women using it as a contraceptive or as an abortifacient.

Use as an abortifacient

Earlier formulations of Lysol contained cresol, a compound that can induce abortions, and it was widely used by women who could not otherwise obtain legal abortions in the United States, although the medical community was relatively unaware of the phenomenon for the first half of the 20th century.[10] [11] It remained a popular birth control method from the Great Depression through the 1960s.[12] By the 1960s, published medical literature had acknowledged the common use of Lysol and other soaps to induce abortions, which could lead to fatal renal failure and sepsis.[13]

Product innovations

Ownership: Lehn & Fink was acquired by Sterling Drug in 1967 and Reckitt & Colman acquired L&F in 1994 when Bayer acquired Sterling-Winthrop. As of 2015 Lysol products were distributed by Reckitt Benckiser LLC of Parsippany, New Jersey.

Ingredients

Different Lysol products contain different active ingredients. Examples of active ingredients used in Lysol products:

Health effects of P-chloro-o-benzylphenol

Lysol contains P-chloro-o-benzylphenol at a 5-6% concentration. It is a chemical[14] that is absorbed in humans through ingestion and the mucus membranes. The Globally Harmonized System of Classification of Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) has released hazard statements[15] on P-chloro-o-benzylphenol that include and are not limited to “skin irritation, allergic skin reaction, causes serious eye damage, harmful if inhaled, suspected of causing cancer, suspected of damaging fertility, and potentially causes damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure”.

SARS-CoV-2 inactivating capability

According to their website, some of Lysol's products "have been tested by an independent third party and approved by the EPA to kill SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, on hard, non-porous surfaces".[16]

Risk of misuse during COVID-19 pandemic

Though Lysol contains disinfecting properties, risks of misuse during the heightened sanitation practices of the COVID-19 pandemic did exist. Overuse, misuse, and improper mixing of disinfectant ingredients can cause both acute and chronic effects.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, more surfaces were being disinfected, such as "touch-screens, plastics, rubber, adhesives, stainless steel and other metals".[17] Acute health effects include coughing, shortness of breath, burning and watery eyes, runny nose,[18] and acute skin irritation.[19] Long-term exposure of fragrances and sanitizers in Lysol can "trigger asthma and allergies".[18]

Products

Competition

Lysol's major competitors include Clorox, Febreze, Tilex, Oust, Mr. Clean and Pine-Sol.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. "Media Corner." Lyzol India, 20 September 2006. Accessed 13 January 2020.
  2. Book: SIMMONS, W.H.. THE HANDBOOK OF SOAP MANUFACTURE no. 1908. SCOTT, GREENWOOD & SON.
  3. Web site: Disinfectant, Disinfectants, antiseptics and disinfectants. GMP Chem Tech Pvt. Ltd., India. 2008-04-22. Web site: Material Safety Data Sheets (L). 2008-04-22. ReSource Colorado (a full service flooring contractor). 1 October 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091001194828/http://resourcecolorado.com/L.htm. dead.
  4. Web site: Material Safety Data Sheet, Lysol(R) Brand Concentrate, Original Scent. 2008-04-22. 18 April 1997. 20 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110720040650/https://www2.itap.purdue.edu/msds/docs/4925.pdf. dead.
  5. Web site: LYSOL POISONING. 2013-05-07. 10 January 1912. The Argus. Melbourne (Australia).
  6. Reregistration Eligibility Decision for Alkyl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride (ADBAC) . U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances. . Frank T. Sanders . August 2006 . 114 . 2009-03-31 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091024165642/http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/adbac_red.pdf . 24 October 2009.
  7. News: 'Fight Spanish Influenza With Daily Disinfection' (advertisement). The New York Times. 30 October 1918. 9. .
  8. Book: American sexual histories . 2012 . Wiley-Blackwell . 978-1-4443-3929-1 . Reis . Elizabeth . 2. . Blackwell readers in American social and cultural history . Malden, Mass..
  9. Web site: Pasulka . Nicole . March 8, 2012 . When Women Used Lysol as Birth Control . December 21, 2023 . Mother Jones.
  10. News: Flanagan, Caitlin. December 2019. The Dishonesty of the Abortion Debate. The Atlantic. 13 January 2020.
  11. Presley . J. A. . Brown . W. E. . Lysol-Induced Criminal Abortion . Obstetrics & Gynecology . September 1956 . 8 . 3 . 368–370 . 14 January 2020.
  12. Book: Rodriguez, Sarah Mellors . 2023 . . 978-1-009-02733-5 . Cambridge, United Kingdom . 92 . 1366057905.
  13. Bartlett . Robert H. . Yahia . Clement . Management of Septic Chemical Abortion with Renal Failure: Report of Five Consecutive Cases with Five Survivors . The New England Journal of Medicine . 2 October 1969 . 281 . 14 . 747–53 . 10.1056/nejm196910022811401. 5807922 .
  14. National Toxicology Program . January 1994 . NTP Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies of o-Benzyl-p-Chlorophenol (CAS No. 120-32-1) in F344/N Rats and B6C3F1 Mice (Gavage Studies) . National Toxicology Program Technical Report Series . 424 . 1–304 . 0888-8051 . 12616287.
  15. Web site: PubChem . 2-Benzyl-4-chlorophenol . 2023-03-02 . pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov . en.
  16. Web site: Help & Support. 2021-04-12. www.lysol.com.
  17. Web site: The Long-Term Effects of Disinfectants on Surfaces & Health . 2023-03-02 . EnvirOx . 9 July 2020 . en-US.
  18. Web site: A rapid review of disinfectant chemical exposures and health effects during the COVID-19 pandemic National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health NCCEH - CCSNE . 2023-03-02 . ncceh.ca . en.
  19. Goh . Choon . Dermatologic reactions to disinfectant use during the COVID-19 pandemic . Clinics in Dermatology. 2021 . 39 . 2. 314–322 . 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2020.09.005 . 34272029 . 7529601 .
  20. Web site: Memorandum. 1. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 7 April 2020. 29 September 2010.

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