Increasingly more children throughout the United States are becoming drunk after ingesting liquid hand sanitizer at school and home, due to the germ-killing products' alcohol content. A new report shows that poison control centers throughout the U.S. have seen an almost 400 percent spike in phone calls related to kids swallowing hand sanitizer, causing intoxication symptoms such as slurred speech and an inability to walk.
The report was released by the Georgia Poison Center. It was based on data related to children who were less than 12 years old.
Different hand sanitizer products have varying amounts of alcohol. The quantity can range from 45 percent up to a sky-high 95 percent.
Ingesting just one or two squirts can result in alcohol poisoning. Meanwhile, beer and wine contain only 5 percent and 12 percent alcohol, respectively.
Alcohol poisoning can result in various symptoms. They include confusion, sleepiness, vomiting, breathlessness, and even unconsciousness, according to WTHR.
Gaylord Lopez, the center's director, noted that more children are getting access to hand sanitizers. This has resulted in a surge of kids being admitted to hospital and medical center emergency rooms.
Poison Control centers received 3,266 hand sanitizer cases involving young children in 2010. However, the figure spiked 80 percent to 16,117 cases last year, according to CNN.
There are various reasons why children drink hand sanitizer. They include it looking delicious or smelling like fruits such as oranges, strawberries, or grapes. Other youngsters do it after their friends dare them.
Various other household products also have high alcohol content. They include mouthwash and cold medicines.
Lopez highly recommends that parents and teachers put hand sanitizers in locations where they are out of reach for kids. Another option is to use alcohol-free products or sanitizer wipes.
Lupe Hernandez invented hand sanitizer in 1966 while she was studying to become a registered nurse (RN) in California. She discovered that alcohol could be transferred through gel for near-instant cleaning when warm water and soap were unavailable.