advertised Lysol disinfectant as an effective countermeasure to the influenza virus. In 1918, during the Spanish flu pandemic, Lehn & Fink, Inc. Use during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic One of the active ingredients, benzalkonium chloride, is highly toxic to fish (LC50 = 280 μg ai/L), very highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates (LC50 = 5.9 μg ai/L), moderately toxic to birds (LD50 = 136 mg/kg-bw), and slightly toxic ('safe') to mammals (LD50 = 430 mg/kg-bw). In 1911, poisoning by drinking Lysol was the most common means of suicide in Australia and New York. įormulations containing chlorophenol are still available in the United Kingdom. This formulation may still be available commercially in some parts of the world.
The original formulation of Lysol contained cresols. The first Lysol Brand Antiseptic Disinfectant was introduced in 1889 by Gustav Raupenstrauch to help end a cholera epidemic in Germany. A 1935 Canadian advertisement promoting Lysol as a feminine hygiene product, using the slogan 'The poise that knowledge gives'
