I recently received several emails warning me about the dangers of hand sanitizer. As a mom who can be seen regularly using Purell or the cheapest off brand, it alarmed me to read such stories.
The emails told of two separate instances in which a child ingested some hand sanitizer. The first email, written by Jennifer Moe, was written after her two-year-old had ingested hand sanitizer. She ended up with a blood alcohol level of .10, which is legally drunk. The second email was about a four-year-old who ended up in the emergency room after ingesting a little amount that was squirted in her hand by her teacher. According to snopes.com, both incidences are true. According to Snopes, "ingesting as little as an ounce or two of this product could be fatal to a toddler."
This is scary to me. I teach toddlers and have young kids at home. It became easy to squirt the sanitizer in their little hands to guarantee cleanliness.
Hand sanitizer gels and wipes contain a considerable amount of alcohol. Purell and Germ-X both contain 62 percent Ethyl Alcohol. Unfortunately, hand sanitizer is not something that we as parents tend to think of as something to protect our children from.
One reason why children are more at risk of ingesting poisons is that children are naturally curious about everything. As a teacher, they tell you to teach to their senses. This is why kids can be easily misguided when exploring. Kids like to taste, smell and feel almost anything. It is how they learn. The sad truth is that children lack the experience to know the difference between poisons and more harmless substances. Most parents know the difference.
Hand Sanitizers do protect against germs, but parents should be diligent in teaching their children how to use the product and the dangers of it. Always keep out of reach of children and only use with adult supervision.
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