Hands cleaned using soap and water that is clean for at minimum twenty seconds can be the ideal method to help children remove germs, such as the virus which is the cause of COVID-19. When soap and drinking water aren’t accessible, you can use hand sanitizer that contains at minimum 60% alcohol. Be sure to use it with careful consideration for children, as ingestion of hand sanitizer may cause poisoning.
Be sure to make sure hand sanitizers are out of kids’ reach. Don’t forget about the travel-sized bottles of sanitizer that are in diaper bags, purses, backpacks , and vehicles. Watch children aged 5 and under when using hand Sanitizer. When using dispensers for hand sanitizer are important to put them in a manner so that they don’t get into the eyes of your child.
Hand disinfectants
A lot of hand sanitizers are manufactured by rubbing alcohol or alcohol (ethanol or ethyl alcohol or isopropanol, alcohol isopropyl). The signs of poisoning by alcohol include a loss of balance and sleepiness, as well as seizures, blood sugar levels that are low, and coma. In addition, it could be fatal.
Children and adults have been poisoned by hand cleaners that contain Methanol (also known as wood alcohol, methyl alcohol and the methylated spirit). There are recalls for methylated spirits and wood alcohol. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued recalls for products that contain methanol that is poisonous in the event of swallowing or application to skin.
It is known to cause problems that range from headaches and nausea to blindness, nerve system damage or even death. A FDA Import Alert warns of products that contain 1-propanol or methanol which is a different kind of alcohol that shouldn’t be employed in hand Sanitizers.
Hand sanitizer poisonings are common during the COVID-19 pandemic
Since families started buying more hand sanitizer to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic National Poison Data System has been receiving more reports of accidental exposures to children. A majority of them are for children five years old and under.
Health experts advise using hand sanitizer with 60%-95 percent alcohol to fight COVID-19, the virus that causes. Alcohol consumption typically contains between 5% and 40 percent alcohol.
Look for the label
When purchasing or using hand sanitizers ensure that it comes with an label with the ingredients along with warnings and safety precautions. In addition, it’s a good idea to check the do-not-use list at www.fda.gov/handsanitizerlist.
To decrease the chance of injuries from drinking by children hand soaps, producers must include ingredients that make the product taste bitter. This step is crucial to stop children from eating the product.
In the early days of the pandemic, FDA started letting distilleries as well as other businesses that don’t typically manufacture hand sanitizers create and sell it in order to meet the demand. The same time the FDA was notified that a few youngsters had attempted to drink hand sanitizers made by distilleries who haven’t done the necessary steps to change their flavor. The FDA has since halted this temporary policy and now anticipates to ensure that the production standards are maintained.
You can look for bitter ingredients like the denatonium-benzoate (Bitrex) and sucrose octaacetate, or butanol (also called tert-butyl liquor). The current hand sanitizers denatured are designed to taste bitter however, you must dispose of any bottles that have been used previously “denatured alcohol,” which might contain toxic methanol.
Be particularly cautious with hand sanitizers that contain Isopropyl Alcohol (isopropanol) in the vicinity of children. They are more dangerous than those made using alcohol or ethanol.
Do you think homemade hand sanitizers are would be a good idea?
Recipes for hand sanitizers that you make which are readily available online could not be the most suitable option for families. According to the FDA cautions against using it if it is made in a way that isn’t correct, hand sanitizer might not be effective. There are also reports of burns to the skin from homemade hand soap.
How do you get rid of hand sanitizers that have been recalled
Don’t flush or pour hand sanitizers into the drain. The products are best disposed of within hazardous garbage containers when you can. If you’re not sure, ask the local waste management or recycling center.
When do you need to dial 911?
Make a call to 911 immediately If your child has fallen down or has seizures, has difficulty breathing, or aren’t able to wake up after swallowing or using products for hand sanitizing. In other cases, you can call the poison control center in your area by dialing 1-800-222-1222.
Discuss your concerns with your pediatrician.
If you have concerns about hand sanitizers and hand washing, speak to your pediatrician. The local Pediatric Environmental Health Specialist unit ( PEHSU has staff members who are able to speak with parents about concerns about environmental toxins.
