Couldn't find what you looking for?

TRY OUR SEARCH!

Is Kerosone A Safe Medicine, And Can It Really Cure Cancer?

by — Last updated: 2017-12-26 in Alternative medicine & healing therapies
Reviewed by Medical Team — 2017-12-26

Table of Contents

Would you drink kerosene, the type that is used in lamps and heaters? No? I didn't think so either. Yet there are people making the bold claim that doing exactly this can cure cancer. SteadyHealth examines the safety of this practice.

Kerosene has, it's true, a history of being used for medicinal purposes. It has recently made a comeback among people who favor natural remedies. I've read about people discussing it as a cure for candida, constipation, and arthritis as well as for the ailments previously mentioned. Before asking whether the oral use of kerosene has the potential to cure cancer, we should really ask whether it's safe to ingest at all, for any purpose. 

The UK's Health Protection Agency, HPA, notes that exposure to kerosene can cause the following health problems [4]:

  • Irritation of the eyes and skin
  • Respiratory irritation
  • Toxicity
  • Dermatitis
  • Acute and chronic exposure may lead to "irritability, restlessness, ataxia, drowsiness, convulsions, coma and death", the agency says. 

You may be relieved to hear that the HPA, along with peer-reviewed studies, has concluded that kerosene is highly unlikely to be carcinogenic in humans. That is, kerosene may not cure cancer, but it probably doesn't cause it either.

The agency does note that "repeated exposure of animals to kerosene has caused skin cancer", however, and also advises anyone who has accidentally ingested kerosene to seek immediate medical assistance due to a risk of short-term lung damage. 

A  study that examined the risks of topical injection of kerosene to cure hemorrhoids noted, after having conducted a systematic review of currently available evidence, that "nowadays, it is obvious that kerosene chemical-based components are toxic materials for the human body." It added that medicinal use of kerosene may lead to organ damage and long-term disability. 

So, Does Kerosene Cure Cancer?

Look into this question, and there is no doubt that you will come across many, mostly indirect, witness accounts saying that it can. These claims are found on numerous alternative health websites, but making wild claims does not make something true. What is lacking here is actual evidence, evidence obtained through the scientific method and published in a peer-reviewed journal. 

The idea that kerosene can be used as a medicine is nothing new, but fortunately we know better now. Cancer quackery is nothing new either, and it is unfortunately still very persistent. People who peddle alternative cancer treatments for which there is no scientific evidence whatsoever that they work — whether for profit or out of sincere belief — are consciously or inadvertently preying on sick people during what might well the most challenging and vulnerable time of their life. By luring cancer patients into alternative remedies, they often steer them away from the treatments that are indeed supported as valid by scientific evidence, primarily chemotherapy. One website I looked at said, for instance: "Petroleum + chemotherapy: this combination is not recommended."

READ Alternative Treatments for Breast Cancer

While such patients stay away from treatments that can save or prolong their lives, they may also end up with new health problems that they would not have had if they hadn't engaged with the untested alternative remedy. 

Whenever someone comes out with bold assertions that a serious illness can be cured with an alternative remedy, a remedy that may itself cause significant health problems, it is important to remember that the burden of proof lies not with those seeking to "debunk" the remedy, but with those making the claim. Proponents of kerosene as a cancer treatment fail sorely on this count. Needless to say, SteadyHealth advises cancer treatments to follow their oncologists' recommendations.