Doug Rogers
Special to The Morning Star
North American doctors are warning parents about a dangerous new trend after teenagers drank hand sanitizer and ended up in emergency rooms with alcohol poisoning.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are widely used and contain between 60 to 95 per cent ethanol or isopropanol (New England Journal Of Medicine, 2012).
Many young people have been admitted to hospitals because they tried to get drunk by guzzling hand sanitizer. Although it may not sound appealing, teens are getting creative when they don’t have access to alcohol.
The trend may seem harmless or even laughable, but doctors say it’s harmful and dangerous.
Bottles of hand sanitizers are inexpensive and accessible and teens can find instructions on distillation online.
Liquid hand sanitizer is 62 per cent ethyl alcohol and makes a 120-proof liquid.
Essentially, it is a shot of hard liquor and the average teenager can get drunk with just a few swallows.
A few drinks can cause a person’s speech to slur and stomach to burn, and make them so drunk that they have to be monitored in the emergency room.
Most abuse cases have been intentional but some younger children have been admitted to hospital from unintentional use – hand licking.
Doctors suggest that if parents buy hand sanitizer, they should purchase the foam version rather than the gel type because it is harder to extract the alcohol and teens may be less likely to drink it.
Parents also shouldn’t leave hand sanitizer around the house, and should monitor it like any other liquor or medication.
Doug Rogers is substance abuse prevention counsellor with the Vernon School District.
