So Many Kids Are Getting Sick From Drinking Hand Sanitizers

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Parents, there’s yet another trend which you should be on the look out for.

A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) has found that over a 3-year period, 70,669 kids in the US aged 12 or under fell ill as a direct result of hand sanitizer.

The data used in the study comes from reports given to Poison Control centers in the US between 2011 and 2014. The majority of cases were due to kids drinking it (over 62,000 cases) which the CDCP says is probably linked to the added fruity scent appeal to children.

More than 92 percent of the cases were also in relation to alcohol-based sanitizers. These kinds of hand sanitizers, as opposed to the other non-alcohol based ones, also came with the worst side effects.

Many of the kids who had a run-in with the hand sanitizers experienced pain, vomiting, irritation and red eyes. Five of the children even fell into comas, 3 had seizures, 2 had respiratory depression and 2 experienced hypoglycemia.

Out of all the cases in the study, 944 said they had ingested it intentionally. The bulk of these came from the older kids in the age 6-12 years bracket. The report says this is an indicator “that older children might be deliberately misusing or abusing alcohol hand sanitizers.”

A few years back there were reports of a “growing trend” of teenagers getting drunk on hand sanitizer. Back in 2012, Buzzfeed News reported that there have been numerous accounts of teenagers across the US ending up in the ER after drinking hand sanitizer, attempting to get a high from the alcohol.

If you have kids, keep your alcohol sanitizers out of hand’s reach and especially with younger children – consider not having sanitizers with scented flavors or appealing colors.

Also, speak to your teens about the danger of these products.