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3rd June 2025
04:10pm BST
The social media influencer encourages parents online to give their autistic children chlorine dioxide (CD), a chemical which is often used to bleach textiles and disinfect industrial surfaces.
Experts have called her fake cures "sickening" and warn parents of the dangerous and harmful consequences the chemical can have on anyone, let alone children.
Messages, viewed by The Independent, from Ms Rivera's private support group reveal parents' concerns about vomiting, rashes, seizures, and chemical-smelling urine in their children after following the influencer's remedy.
One parent wrote: “I have noticed a high ammonia-smelling urine in my daughter's pull-ups... I imagine these are the parasites dying and leaving behind their toxins. Is this a good sign to be smelling this?”
This stems from Rivera's take that autism comes from parasites and worms. The influencer reassures her followers that these 'side effects' are toxins leaving the body.
Kerri Rivera shares these claims on her Instagram, where she has amassed over 17,000 followers. On TikTok, she has attracted over 3,000 followers.
Despite Ms Rivera's arguments, autism is a lifelong neurological condition.
It's not caused by viruses or parasites, nor is it curable.
A simple Google search will quickly tell you that the ingestion of chlorine dioxide can cause immediate pain in the form of burning in the mouth, throat, and stomach, as well as abdominal pain, vomiting blood and shortness of breath, according to the UK Health Security Agency.
In serious cases, it can even cause hemorrhagic or hypovolemic shock, which leads to insufficient blood flow and oxygen to the organs due to the body's depleting blood volume.
When a child ingests CD, it can strip their bowel lining and cause pink urine and green stools. In severe cases, it can lead to seizures.
Despite these serious dangers, influencer Rivera continues to promote the so-called CD "protocol" on her social media.
Tim Nicholls, assistant director of policy, research and strategy at the National Autistic Society (NAS), commented on the matter, per The Telegraph: “It is sickening that this so-called ‘protocol guide’ for parents of autistic children claims to treat or cure autism. This information is wrong, dangerous and harmful to autistic people and their families, and to our charity.
“No autistic person, parent or carer should be told to ‘cure’ their child by administering a dangerous, potentially life-threatening chemical. Autism is a lifelong neurodivergence and disability, it is not a disease that can be ‘treated’ or ‘cured’. Non-scientific and false claims that appear on social media platforms and across mainstream media need to be challenged and reported to enforcement agencies.”
The NAS encourages people to report any products or services claiming to treat or cure autism to the Food Standards Agency.
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