Replied By Deirdre (Earth Clinic) on 08/03/2009

"Thank you for taking the time to contact Bayer HealthCare. We appreciate your interest in PHILLIPS'® Milk of Magnesia.

In response to your inquiry, Sodium Hypochlorite is derived from Chlorine and Sodium Hydroxide and is used as a antimicrobial agent.

If we may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact our Consumer Relations Department.

Replied By Kay (Fl, US) on 07/13/2014

FYI: My generic bottle of MOM made by GeriCare, lists its Active Ingredient as Magnesium Hydroxide, then in tiny letters at the very bottom it lists "Inactive Ingredients" as water and sodium hydroxide.

Replied By Timh (KY) on 07/13/2014

Replied By Mona (Fl) on 05/12/2015

Replied By Lynn R (Austin Tx) on 05/14/2015

Replied By Raven (California, San Jose) on 11/19/2015

Replied By Arley (Florida) on 02/08/2016

According to Wikipedia it is the sodium hypochlorite itself that has been used to treat eczema. So, one should research if you want this substance in the MOM you would use to treat eczema or body odor. It seems like you might want it. Maybe you want the CVS brand if you take it internally. I would guess that it could damage gut flora since it is commonly used as a disinfectant.

From wikipedia: Dilute bleach baths have been used for decades to treat moderate to severe eczema in humans, [12][13] but it has not been clear why they work. According to work published by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine in November 2013, a very dilute (0.005%) solution of sodium hypochlorite in water was successful in treating skin damage with an inflammatory component caused by radiation therapy, excess sun exposure or aging in laboratory mice. Mice with radiation dermatitis given daily 30-minute baths in bleach solution experienced less severe skin damage and better healing and hair regrowth than animals bathed in water. A molecule called nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-kB) is known to play a critical role in inflammation, ageing and response to radiation. The researchers found that if NF-kB activity was blocked in elderly mice by bathing them in bleach solution, the animals' skin began to look younger, going from old and fragile to thicker, with increased cell proliferation. The effect diminished after the baths were stopped, indicating that regular exposure was necessary to maintain skin thickness.[12][14]

Also noted in wikipedia:

Chlorination of drinking water can oxidize organic contaminants, producing chloroform and other trihalomethanes, which are carcinogenic, and many hundreds of possible disinfection by-products, the vast majority of which are not monitored. So I would definitely not want it in anything I consumed internally.

So although, it may be beneficial for some things in very small amounts, I.e. a .005% solution is a very small amount in a bath to treat eczema, but not great for ingesting. I am not sure of the % in the MOM solution. That information would be helpful to determine an appropriate amount in a bath to treat eczema.

Replied By Zark (Emerald City) on 06/20/2017

Of course you must be careful to take the right dose, just as with most medicinals.