The Nebraska Regional Poison Center has received an increase in calls concerning hand sanitizers and the dangers associated with them. This month an e-mail has been circulating to mothers, teachers and health care providers about a child who ingested a lick of a hand sanitizer after it was applied to the hands and then became intoxicated from the ethanol in the product.
Some hand sanitizers contain a high percentage of ethanol. If a child ingests any amount of a hand sanitizer, a call to the poison center is recommended. The nurse can find the percentage of ethanol in the product and do a calculation based on the weight of the child to determine whether this would be a problem. With most hand sanitizers, it would take more than a large mouthful of the product to be a toxic. This will vary with the brand and the weight of the child.
There are many products in the home that contain ethanol. These include commonly used products such as mouthwash, perfume and aftershave. Although it is unlikely for children to become intoxicated from licking their hand or even from getting a small amount of these products into the mouth, the Nebraska Regional Poison Center urges parents to keep all ethanol-containing products out of reach of small children.
The Nebraska Regional Poison Center offers tips on poison prevention as a free community service. For more information, contact the Nebraska Regional Poison Center by calling 955-5555 in the Omaha metropolitan area or toll-free at 1-800-222-1222.
The Nebraska Regional Poison Center is sponsored by The Nebraska Medical Center, Creighton University Medical Center and UNMC.