MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russians visiting a health resort received a rude shock when a nurse used hydrogen peroxide instead of water to give them enemas.
Itar-Tass news agency reported Thursday that 17 tourists in the Caucasus spa town of Yessentuki had to be treated in hospital after the mix-up.
All I can say is…ouch! It’s a wonder none of them burned a hole in the colon and needed an emergency operation. What would EneMan think? But what’s really funny is the excuse for the mixup:
Sources at the sanatorium said the mistake was explained by water and hydrogen peroxide looking the same. Hydrogen peroxide, which can be used to bleach hair, is used as a disinfectant but should not be ingested.
Well, that certainly explains it. I wonder if no one noticed the foaming that frequently occurs when hydrogen peroxide comes in contact with blood or other bodily fluids (and, make no mistake, if you put undiluted 3% hydrogen peroxide instead of water into someone’s colon, to borrow the title of a movie, There Will Be Blood). Maybe they thought that the bloody, foaming enema effluent that was no doubt being returned (coupled with the screams of spa goers from intense abdominal pain) was nothing more than the “toxins” coming out. Either that, or it was a microenema of inconsequential volume of fluid, a homeopathic enema, if you will.
Never mind, this is getting too disgusting. It just goes to show, though, that one can never underestimate the level of human stupidity.
