by Sharon Early

Created on: September 18, 2007

Hand sanitizers, if you look around any home you will more than likely find a bottle of clear gel sanitizer in the bathroom, the kitchen, the living room, and even in diaper bags and in the car. Many people are unaware that hand sanitizers, which contain 62% alcohol if ingested by a child can result in alcohol poisoning. According to Snopes.com a child ingesting hand sanitizer is equivalent to them taking a drink of 120 proof booze and can cause dizziness, inability to walk, blurred vision, vomiting, and even death if enough were drunk. It seems just three pumps of hand sanitizer can result in a blood alcohol level of .10 which is legally drunk! Refer to site http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/sanitizer.asp for articles posted by the parents regarding their children ingesting hand sanitizer. This is not a widely known caution but if you use hand sanitizer and have small children the risk of alcohol poisoning is definitely something I think that every parent should be aware of.

Use of hand sanitizers in classrooms, preschools, doctors offices, and even hospitals has become quite popular in the recent past. This is largely due to the fact that they are said to kill from 99.6% to 99.9% of all germs that you may come into contact with. Hand sanitizer is easy to use, comes in a variety of sizes for carrying in your purse, car, or for home usage, and has a variety of fresh scents from lemon to mint. They also come with varying levels of alcohol content. In order for a gel or foam hand sanitizer to be effective in killing bacteria it must have an alcohol concentration of at least 60%. Any product with lower than a 60% alcohol concentration will not kill germs and bacteria, so it is important to read the active ingredients on the back of the bottle as some products that are available on the market have a concentration as low as 40% alcohol.
Since 2002, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended that health care workers routinely use high quality alcohol-based gels instead of soap and water on their hands when moving from patient to patient as long the worker's hands aren't visibly soiled. Reference: Hand Sanitizers, Good or Bad?
The New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/21/health/21cons.html ?ex=1190260800&en=aad73d498c7d27a8&ei=5070 .
The CDC recommends a "high quality alcohol based gel" but does not specify the concentration of alcohol that is recommended. Many hospitals have adopted this policy and offer hand sanitizer dispensers at regular intervals along hallways and in employee areas as well as in restrooms and food areas. Given the fact that the consumer must be diligent in ensuring the level of alcohol content and the fact that the alcohol content may injure or kill children using the product if ingested I believe that while hand sanitizers are useful in the car and in places where soap and water are not readily available, in the home where it is readily available, sanitizer should not replace washing hands with soap and water. Especially in homes with small children, children should be sent to wash their hands with soap and water or they should be well supervised when using a hand sanitizer.

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