Washing children’s hands for 20 seconds with soap and water is the best way to kill germs, including Covid-19. If soap and water is not available, they can use hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol. As families try to protect their family members they are buying more and more hand sanitizers. The health experts recommend using sanitizers with 60-95% alcohol. Drinking alcohol typically has 5 to 40% alcohol per serving which is much less concentrated than the recommended concentration in sanitizers.
The alcohol used in hand sanitizers is usually isopropyl or ethanol. Another alcohol used in industries is methanol. The alcohol in alcoholic drinks is ethanol. All of these compounds can cause alcohol poisoning and methanol is particularly toxic and can cause blindness and death. Unfortunately recently the Food and Drug Administration is warning that nine hand sanitizers made in Mexico may have methanol in concentrations of 28-81 percent.
When buying hand sanitizers, parents should make sure the label lists the ingredients, warnings and precautions. The ingredients should have something added that makes the liquid taste terrible and bitter so look for the word “denatured” on the bottle or bitter ingredients such as Bitrex or butanol. Avoid products containing methanol, methyl alcohol, or methylated spirits.
It is not recommended that parents make their own sanitizers. They may not work and they may be harmful.
The American Academy of Pediatrics urges parents to keep hand sanitizers out of children’s reach. Don’t forget about the tiny cute travel bottles of sanitizers in purses, diaper bags, backpacks and cars. Parents and caregivers should supervise children ages 5 and younger when using hand sanitizer.
Swallowing just a tiny amount of hand sanitizer can cause alcohol poisoning in children. Remember high concentrations of alcohol and small bodies. Alcohol poisoning in children can cause low blood sugar, seizures, coma and death.
Call 911 right away if you think your child has swallowed hand sanitizer, if your child has collapsed, is having a seizure or a hard time breathing. If it seems that it is not a life-threatening situations call poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or visit https://triage.webpoisoncontrol.org/#/exclusions. It might be a good time to put Poison Control’s number in your phone.
As Gilda Radner said ‘It’s always something. If it isn’t one thing-it’s another. It’s always something”.
Be safe and wash your hands.
by Sally Robinson, MD
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
Keeping Kids Healthy
Published 4/24/2020
Also See:
Poison Control Website (information) |
Web Poison Control (triage)
UTMB Pediatrics - Pediatric Primary Care
UTMB Health Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Social Workers and Counselors
UTMB After Hours Urgent Care
UTMB Health COVID-19 Website