Cristina Cuomo is addressing criticism she received after sharing a list of homeopathic treatments she used to treat her coronavirus symptoms, including taking Clorox baths, in a blog post on her digital wellness magazine, The Purist. The wife of CNN’s Chris Cuomo was quickly criticized for the dangerous recommendation, and slammed as out-of-touch after also recommending a number of expensive herbal and vitamin treatments that wouldn’t be an option for many people’s budgets.
Amid the backlash, Cristina told PEOPLE she was “aware that what I am about to talk about are remedies for people who are already in a privileged situation—we have a roof over our head, enough food to eat and clean drinking water, and not everyone has that.” She continued, “There’s a huge opposition against holistic medicine, I get that,” and made sure to clarify that the Clorox baths of which she spoke called for 1/4 cup of the cleanser only, emphasizing that people should not bathe in a tub full of it. The post has since been updated with the disclaimer: “None of these natural remedies below should be taken without consulting a doctor or naturopath.”
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Cristina added to the magazine of her own experience with the bath, “Who knows if it worked or what it did, but I know that in nine days, I got most of that virus out of my system. This being a virus with no vaccination and no cure, my resolution was to learn as much as I can, go to my same doctor Linda Lancaster and follow her protocol, her prescription. And no way am I saying please try this. It’s just the path that I took and I’m sharing it because there isn’t a lot of anecdotal evidence.”
Chris Cuomo was the first of the family to be diagnosed with COVID-19 last month, with it being revealed on April 15 that Cristina had tested positive as he recovers from the illness. Soon after, the couple revealed their 14-year-old son, Mario Cuomo, also tested positive for the virus. Daughters Bella and Carolina have yet to show symptoms, Cristina told PEOPLE, and the family is trying to stay positive as they recover. “I have to say, the fear I had going into it was far greater than the fear I had while I was in it,” she said. “I think there’s so much anxiety right now around this virus, and part of it is the fear of knowing there’s no vaccine, and there’s no proven cure or treatments.”
