A new report from the Food and Drug Administration includes a warning against five hand sanitizer products that have caused the death or h...
A new report from the Food and Drug Administration includes a warning against five hand sanitizer products that have caused the death or hospitalization of both adults and children after improper use.
The five specific hand sanitizers were all made by the chemical manufacturer Eskbiochem SA de CV in Celaya, Mexico, and contain dangerous amounts of methanol without listing it as an ingredient.
The most common and safest active ingredient for hand sanitizer is ethyl alcohol (ethanol), which is what the five hand sanitizer products listed on their own packaging.
A new FDA report has warned against the use of five specific hand sanitizer brands that have toxic amounts of methanol
However, further FDA testing showed that each of the products contained significant amounts of methanol, which can be toxic if ingested, inhaled, or even absorbed through the skin.
One of the hand sanitizer brands singled out by the FDA contained an 81% concentration of methanol and contained no ethyl alcohol at all, according to a report in ArsTechnica.
Methanol is perhaps most famous as a byproduct of bootleg liquor production, produced by improperly sterilized equipment and capable of causing blindness or even death.
Consuming the equivalent of two tablespoons can be fatal to children, and smaller quantities can damage organs, and adversely affect the optic nerve, causing serious visual impairment.
'Methanol is not an acceptable active ingredient for hand sanitizers and must not be used due to its toxic effects,' the FDA report says.
'FDA’s investigation of methanol in certain hand sanitizers is ongoing. The agency will provide additional information as it becomes available.'
Ethyl alcohol, sometimes listed as ethanol, is a safe ingredient used in most sanitizers, but some products contain methanol, which is dangerous to breathe, ingest, or absorb through the skin
The five hand sanitizers the FDA warned against were all made by Eskbiochem SA de CV, a chemical manufacturer in Celaya, Mexico
Even just two tablespoons of methanol can kill a child if ingested, and smaller quantities can still cause organ damage, blindness, comas, and more
The FDA says there are specific cases of both adults and children being hospitalized, going blind, and even dying as a result of methanol exposure through the cited hand sanitizer products.
Symptoms of ethanol exposure include nausea, blurry vision, intense headaches, seizures, coma, and loss of vision.
'Although all persons using these products on their hands are at risk for methanol poisoning, young children who accidentally ingest these products and adolescents and adults who drink these products as an alcohol (ethanol) substitute, are most at risk,' the FDA report says.
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