My daughter-in-law, Heather, forwarded an email to me with a warning about a toddler who had gotten very ill from hand sanitizer. Ordinarily I would roll my eyes at something like this, then take a look at one of the websites that reviews these kinds of things like Snopes or Truth or Fiction.... try to flesh out the truth, etc....
But Heather is a nurse. She wouldn't forward something that sounded so dire if she wasn't quite sure that this could be a real problem. As it turns out, it's most definitely a good warning. And yes, the story looks to be true.
Young children aren't particularly discerning when it comes to what they will put in their mouths. The hand sanitizer this child had used smelled good to her -- so she licked it off her hands. It caused alcohol poisoning -- at such high levels that her life was at risk.
The story reminded me of a small survey I had done in my early school teaching years. Yes - in my first real career (after being a checkout girl at the local supermarket while in my teens!) I taught elementary school. To complete an assignment as I worked on my masters degree, I surveyed all the first graders in my school, asking them (among other questions) "If something smells good, will it taste good, too?"
I don't remember the exact numbers, but (something like) 90% said yes! These were children who were 6 and 7 years old -- and they still believed that if something smelled good, it would taste good.
So it only makes sense, and it was only a matter of time, before a child would take ill from hand sanitizer. We encourage its use, but we need to teach children that it is poison, too. It needs to kill those germs! But it doesn't need to kill our children, too.
If you have children or grandchildren -- if you spend any time with children -- then be sure they understand that hand sanitizer is poison. When used properly, of course, it can be life saving. When you think about it -- no wonder our children get so confused.
Safety and prevention are big components to patient empowerment. We have Heather to thank for today's lesson.
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It’s important to note that according to the original story, the child is thought to have eaten the dollop of sanitizer directly from her hand instead of rubbing it in.
Further, she must have consumed a pretty enormous dollop to have a BAC of .085% (85% is impossible) six hours after arriving at the ER. By some calculators, a 40-lb child would need to have consumed well over a full ounce of 62% alcohol, way, way more than a normal application would be.
My purse-size Purell only contains one half-ounce (about 6 teaspoons), which is good for 5-10 adult-size applications. I can’t see how a toddler’s palm could even contain half an ounce of sanitizer gel, let alone more than an ounce.
I’m thinking she managed to get several extra helpings, either by eating her neighbor’s dollops as well, or perhaps got into the dispenser itself.
On first reading, I thought the claim was that the child had become ill after licking her hands after using a normal dose of hand sanitizer in the normal fashion. Very different.
Well said sciquest. Even water can be lethal if taken in sufficient quantities. The explanation over the original story is needed. Thank you