There has been a craze going around Endicott College and that craze is drinking soap. Words I never thought would come out of my mouth; “If you wanna be cool, you gotta drink Dawn soap!” I really don’t know how it became such a popular trend but I decided to gather some facts and myths about ingesting soap. Now, this article is not intended to bash the Soap Boyz, but it is also not intended to encourage such odd behavior. This new trend has spread around campus and has become a bit of controversy. Most, fully support drinking soap, but there are some that worry that ingesting soap is harmful to your health. However, The Soap Boyz use the hashtag #dawnonly which brings up the question; is Dawn soap “healthier” and “safer” to ingest than other dish soaps? Or does it just so happen to be a catchy hashtag?
The Truth Behind Drinking Soap:
I went to great lengths and emailed Dawn, however, the Dawn Team was the least bit helpful in finding the truth behind Dawn dish soap and whether or not it is truly harmful to ingest. However, they did state that Dawn is not “intended” for consumption which implies that it can be consumed, it’s just not suggested or meant to be ingested. Again, they don’t say that it is dangerous, they just recommend drinking a glass of water to dilute the soap if you consume soap.
In addition, the Dawn website suggests “if you accidentally swallow dish soap, immediately drink water to dilute the product”. My line of thinking with this is, the Soap Boyz do require you to consume “liquid” after ingesting the soap, so, the “liquid” will dilute the soap to a certain degree. However, beer is probably safer than hard liquor because it contains more water. This is assuming you are consuming soap for popularity and didn’t just accidently consume soap, because in that case I would suggest just drinking some water. Either way, if soap is ingested, it is recommended that it is diluted in the body.
On the flip side, soap is NOT intended to be consumed. It is not a part of any of the food groups and certainly does not provide any benefits to the body. In fact, consuming soap can do harm to the body, so it’s all about the risks you’re willing to take to become an honorary Soap Boy or Soap Girl. Drinking soap alone, without alcohol, can lead to severe diarrhea and vomiting, so I can only imagine what happens when alcohol is in the mix. However, according to medlineplus.gov, “swallowing soap does not usually cause serious problems”. In my opinion, although some may disagree, everything is fine in moderation. Would I ingest soap in large portions; include it in my 3 meals a day? Absolutely not, but ingesting small amounts of soap on the weekend, although not the brightest idea, is not “dangerous”.
I’m not telling you to all go drink soap on the weekends, but, it’s not going to kill you. Remember, it is NOT intended to be consumed. According to the Hazardous Materials Identification System, which uses a scale for the level of severity for acute exposures, lists Dawn Direct Dish soap as 1 = slight. The scale is from 0= minimal, 1 = slight, 2 = moderate, 3 = serious, 4 = severe. The scale is based on the toxicity of chemicals contained in the product and its ability to cause irritation to the body. However, I’ve attached an image of the ingredients in Dawn dish soap. Have fun trying to recognize or pronounce any of the chemicals in the soap. I know if it were me, I wouldn’t want to put that in my body.
Moreover, if you want to drink soap, be my guest! It isn’t exactly healthy and it’s slightly unintelligent maybe, but not dangerous. Soap Boyz, keep drinking soap if you’d like but just remember, you may end up on or over the toilet for several hours as a result!
In my research, I discovered a healthier soap for the Soap Boyz if they are interested in cutting down their consumption of chemicals. Dawn’s new Free and Gentle soap. If you must continue to drink soap like it’s the new coffee, at least consider Dawn Free and Gentle. It’s dye-free, hypoallergenic and biodegradable. It also has extraordinary reviews on the Dawn website, however, no one was kind enough to mention the taste so you’ll have to figure that one out on your own.
Sources: (If you’re curious as to where I got my information)
http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/poison/soap-ingestion/overview.html
https://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=16030021
https://www.pg.com/productsafety/ingredients/Ultra_Dawn_Original.pdf