from the friends-don't-let-friends-drink-hand-sanitizers dept.
Adults and children in the United States have been blinded, hospitalized, and, in some cases, even died after drinking hand sanitizers contaminated with the extremely toxic alcohol methanol, the Food and Drug Administration reports.
In an updated safety warning, the agency identified five more brands of hand sanitizer that contain methanol, a simple alcohol often linked to incorrectly distilled liquor that is poisonous if ingested, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin.
[...]
The newly identified products are as follows:
- Hand sanitizer Gel Unscented 70% Alcohol, made by Grupo Insoma, S.A.P.I de CV (Mexico)
- Mystic Shield Protection hand sanitizer, made by Transliquid Technologies (Mexico)
- Berish Hand Sanitizer Gel Fragrance Free, made by Soluciones Cosmeticas SA de CV (Mexico)
- Antiseptic Alcohol 70% Topical Solution hand sanitizer, made by Soluciones Cosmeticas SA de CV (Mexico)
- Britz Hand Sanitizer Ethyl Alcohol 70%, made by Tropicosmeticos SA de CV (Mexico)
The full list of product codes can be found here.
Previously:
(2020-06-23) Toxic Methanol that Causes Blindness Found in Hand Sanitizers, FDA Warns
Related Stories
The US Food and Drug Administration on Monday advised consumers to avoid nine types of hand sanitizers that may contain methanol, a toxic alcohol that can cause blindness if swallowed and systemic effects if absorbed through the skin.
All nine hand sanitizers are made by Eskbiochem SA de CV in Mexico. The agency said in its advisory that it discovered methanol while testing two of the company's products. One, called Lavar Gel, was 81-percent methanol—and no ethanol, a safe alcohol meant to be used in hand sanitizers. Another, CleanCare No Germ, was 2-percent methanol.
From the FDA advisory, the Eskbiochem SA de CV products are:
- All-Clean Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-002-01)
- Esk Biochem Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-007-01)
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-008-04)
- Lavar 70 Gel Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-006-01)
- The Good Gel Antibacterial Gel Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-010-10)
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-005-03)
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-009-01)
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-003-01)
- Saniderm Advanced Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-001-01)
Mounting poisonings, blindness, deaths as toxic hand sanitizers flood market
The Food and Drug Administration is renewing warnings this week of dangerous hand sanitizers as it continues to find products that contain toxic methanol—a poisonous alcohol that can cause systemic effects, blindness, and death.
The agency's growing "do-not-use list" of dangerous sanitizers now includes 87 products. And with the mounting tally, the FDA also says there are rising reports from state health departments and poison control centers of injuries and deaths.
"We remain extremely concerned about the potential serious risks of alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing methanol," said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn in a statement.
Previously:
Toxic Hand Sanitizers Have Blinded and Killed Adults and Children, FDA Warns
Toxic Methanol that Causes Blindness Found in Hand Sanitizers, FDA Warns
The US Food and Drug Administration on Monday issued a first-of-its-kind alert to try to block the import of toxic hand sanitizers from Mexico, which have been flooding the market amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last June, the regulatory agency began issuing alerts and warnings for consumers about dangerous and counterfeit hand sanitizers, many of which were made in Mexico. Since then, the FDA has issued alerts on 226 products. An FDA survey conducted between April and December found that 84 percent of products tested from Mexico were not in compliance with FDA regulations.
[...] Along with spotting the dangerous products, the agency also said it began getting reports from states of methanol poisonings from sanitizers, which in some cases lead to blindness, cardiac effects, effects on the central nervous system, hospitalizations, and deaths in adults and children. The agency notes that methanol exposures can cause nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system, or death. Though the products pose risks to anyone using the sanitizers properly—they can be absorbed through the skin—the products are most dangerous to small children who may drink them out of curiosity or adults who drink them as an alcohol substitute.
Previously:
Toxic Methanol that Causes Blindness Found in Hand Sanitizers, FDA Warns
Toxic Hand Sanitizers Have Blinded and Killed Adults and Children, FDA Warns
Mounting Poisonings, Blindness, Deaths as Toxic Hand Sanitizers Flood Market
(Score: 2, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday July 08 2020, @01:46AM (34 children)
We already argued about this last week or some such.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by MostCynical on Wednesday July 08 2020, @01:59AM (27 children)
the previous article included absorption through the skin.. this one seems to suggest:
1. people are drinking hand sanitizer
and, either
2a. hand sanitizer shouldn't contain methanol
or:
2b. people shouldn't drink the ones with methanol (shouldn't they already declare the ingredients? who needs truth-in-labeling laws? /rhetorical)
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Wednesday July 08 2020, @02:44AM
Sounds like due to availability drunks have turned from stealing mouth wash to stealing hand sanitizer.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:26AM (24 children)
Gotta learn them early with the hardship.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:45AM (23 children)
Did someone give it to them? Wouldn't that be attempted murder (or at least battery)?
Did they find the bottles and decide to drink it 'for fun'? (Neglect by parent/guardian?)
Did one child goad another into drinking the stuff? (plain bullying, could have been any substance)
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:49AM (2 children)
Bloody stupid people doing bloody stupid things that harm or kill them does not warrant the rest of the world bending over backwards to bubblewrap the entire planet for them.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by c0lo on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:58AM (1 child)
Methinks there's a huge difference between FDA maintaining a list of poisonous hand sanitizers for the public to bubblewrapping the entire planet.
Careful how large jumps you let you mind take, you may end living a fantasy not related in any way to the reality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday July 11 2020, @04:11PM
They're not remotely toxic unless you're a Tide-pod-eating level of moron. Unless we need to put a "Not for rectal use" warning on your car's trailer hitch, your argument is disingenuous.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 4, Funny) by c0lo on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:54AM (1 child)
Missing tide pods reference.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Funny) by RS3 on Wednesday July 08 2020, @04:00AM
Tide pods neutralize methanol. I heard it somewhere. :)
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:58AM (14 children)
Those are good questions and I'm not sure, but most hand sanitizer has ethanol, not methanol. In fact there were many simple recipes for making hand sanitizer, if you couldn't find it in stores, by mixing ethanol and aloe gel, and maybe a few other things.
FTFA, the label said it was 70% ethyl (another name for ethanol), but the FDA testing found 81% methanol, and no ethanol.
So if hand sanitizer contains ethanol and no methanol, you could possibly drink it fairly safely. Well, you could think you could drink it safely (but that's crazy imho.)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @04:31AM (11 children)
I believe, depending on what state you live in, ethanol alcohol has to be 'denatured' meaning it needs to have some additives in order to make it undesirable to drink, or else it's subject to a hefty alcohol tax.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by RS3 on Wednesday July 08 2020, @06:39AM (9 children)
I know about denatured alcohol, and I was thinking that and did some research but could not find anything definitive. Generally if I venture an opinion or state something I'm not sure about, someone here will 1) verbally accost me, and 2) downmod me. I don't know why some people think every comment here (or /.) must be absolute universal truth. (that's supposed to be heard in a loud, deep, reverberant voice).
Anyway, I actually have some "rubbing" alcohol that is 70% ethyl. I have no idea if it's "denatured"- it doesn't say, but it says something about "if taken internally, severe gastric disturbances will result". I also have a gallon of denatured, and they smell quite similar. I don't have any pure grain to compare it to, but I should get some (makes a great cleaning solvent).
What I found in researching it a bit is that there are several ways to "denature" alcohol, and part of the goal is to make it smell bad or funky to hopefully discourage drinking it (because it's been made poisonous, and I also remember all of that from college chem lab.)
Interestingly, methanol is one of the additives used to "denature" ethanol.
My can of denatured does NOT give any ingredients. I'm not in CA and I wonder if they require more thorough ingredients list.
Easily found on web: "non-lethal dose, as little as 10ml of methanol will permanently destroy optic nerve" -> blindness.
There was a "House, MD" episode where a dude drank some methanol and I forget what House did to counteract it. From a summary wiki:
So he gave him ethanol (IV, or rum, or something, I forget.)
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Wednesday July 08 2020, @01:23PM (2 children)
Odd, I'm not sure if I've ever seen ethanol used in rubbing alcohol, it's almost always isopropyl diluted with water. If it says severe gastric disturbances will occur though, then it's probably a safe bet that it's denatured - ethanol on its own shouldn't do that.
If you're curious about the contents of denatured alcohol, I've had good luck looking up the MDS safety sheets for the specific brand - not really consumer-facing, but I guess maybe they need a record as an industrial chemical? As I recall, for the brand I use as camp stove fuel it was denatured with methanol and rubber solvents.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:24PM
Yes, it is odd and it's the only ethyl rubbing alcohol bottle I've ever seen. It's quite old- could be 30 years or more. It's plastic, looks pretty much like any you'd find in stores now, but says "ethyl 70%" right on the label, and not much else interesting...
Except in _very_ tiny print: "NDC 0426-0126-16"
A very brief search turned up nothing, and no time for more searching...
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:27PM
BTW, the bottle referred to is brand "Treasury", which was "Thrift Drug's" store brand, and they went out of business 1997. I'm sure this bottle is a good bit older than that. The good old days!! :)
(Score: 4, Informative) by c0lo on Wednesday July 08 2020, @01:50PM (5 children)
Rubbing alcohol is usually isopropyl [wikipedia.org] - one more carbon than ethanol and the position of the OH group is not on the end of the carbon chain. When metabolized, it results in acetone (a ketone), less toxic than the acetaldehide [wikipedia.org] resulted from the oxidation of ethanol.
Bottom line - the rubbing alcohol is metabolized faster (less buzz than the ethanol booze) and safer - may not need denaturating.
Depends. In Australia, there is actually no methanol in the "methylated spirits" [bunnings.com.au] exactly because the potential of accidental intoxications. Here, the technical spirits is a "technical grade ethanol - 95% purity" and the denaturation is done by adding a small quantity of the most powerful bitter agent known to humans [wikipedia.org]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:15PM (1 child)
Thanks for the chem lesson! I studied a little and am moderately savvy. I'd never heard of "denatonium". Very interesting. Sounds like fun at parties! :)
Yes, here in US it's usualllyl isopropyl. But yeah, this one bottle is ethyl, says so. It's an older bottle- not sure how old but could be 30 years, maybe that was more common back then. Again, it smells exactly like my can of denatured, and I have a pretty good smeller.
That's awesome that you (all) don't poison the alcohol. It's inspiring in me a 2,000 word essay (babbling) on the US, govt., power and control, who has it and loves it too much, etc. I'm thinking of the alcohol "prohibition" of the 1920s and all the violence it caused, just like the "drug wars" still raging in the US. They'd rather make it poisonous and tough crap to the people who end up drinking it, no matter how accidentally even if it's a child.
Thanks again for the info- you're a great educator!
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @04:32PM
Also about Acetone toxicity
"Acetone can be found as an ingredient in a variety of consumer products ranging from cosmetics to processed and unprocessed foods. Acetone has been rated as a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) substance when present in beverages, baked foods, desserts, and preserves at concentrations ranging from 5 to 8 mg/L.[58]
Acetone is however an irritant, causing mild skin irritation and moderate to severe eye irritation. At high vapor concentrations, it may depress the central nervous system like many other solvents.[59] In one documented case, ingestion of a substantial amount of acetone led to systemic toxicity, although the patient eventually fully recovered.[citation needed] Some sources estimate LD50 for human ingestion at 0.621 g/kg.[citation needed] Acute toxicity for mice by ingestion (LD50) is 3 g/kg, and by inhalation (LC50) is 44 g/m3 over 4 hours."
Those concentrations are much lower than those of ethanol
Also about the denaturing of ethanol
"Pure ethanol and alcoholic beverages are heavily taxed as psychoactive drugs, but ethanol has many uses that do not involve its consumption. To relieve the tax burden on these uses, most jurisdictions waive the tax when an agent has been added to the ethanol to render it unfit to drink. These include bittering agents such as denatonium benzoate and toxins such as methanol, naphtha, and pyridine. Products of this kind are called denatured alcohol.[99][100]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @04:19PM (1 child)
I've never heard that isopropyl alcohol is safer than ethyl alcohol and I thought I remember it being way more dangerous so I looked it up. I found various websites that basically say it's not safer. Here is one source.
"Consuming even small amounts of rubbing alcohol, or isopropyl alcohol, can make a person very ill. Isopropyl alcohol is twice as toxic as ethanol, the form of alcohol contained in alcoholic beverages, and drinking it can result in severe depression of the central nervous system, internal bleeding and even death. "
https://www.drugrehab.com/addiction/alcohol/drinking-rubbing-alcohol/ [drugrehab.com]
Here is another source
"Isopropyl alcohol is also extremely irritating to the digestive tract. Drinking a lot of it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, pain, and bleeding in the stomach and intestines. This can lead to dehydration, low blood pressure, shock, and coma."
https://www.poison.org/articles/2012-dec/rubbing-alcohol-only-looks-like-water [poison.org]
I post this because I don't want someone reading your post and drinking this stuff. Please do not.
(Score: 3, Touché) by FatPhil on Thursday July 09 2020, @12:26PM
Which it is, as methanol is a mass killer even in small concentrations. (At least here in eastern europe.)
If those with poor reading comprehension drink stuff and die, then the average reading comprehension level will rise - that's a good thing.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @04:22PM
Even your own Wikipedia link says
"Isopropyl alcohol forms an azeotrope with water, which gives a boiling point of 80.37 °C (176.67 °F) and a composition of 87.7 wt% (91 vol%) isopropyl alcohol. Water-isopropyl alcohol mixtures have depressed melting points.[10] It has a slightly bitter taste, and is not safe to drink."
Enough said. Do not drink this stuff.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @11:28AM
Ah yes, Bitrex and it's pals....
Funny thing about Bitrex, some people can't taste it, and some of us quite like bitter tastes...
Denatured?, preab san ól
(Score: 3, Funny) by driverless on Wednesday July 08 2020, @09:42AM (1 child)
Maybe the US needs to build a wall to keep out toxic Mexican hand sanitiser?
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:45PM
Won't help. They're now using methanol filled water cannons.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @10:43AM (2 children)
Someone here (a comment, a few weeks ago already) posted a picture of hand sanitizer in a drinking bottle. They already said it was an accident waiting to happen. IIRC the context was that some manufacturers were repurposing existing production lines to produce more (profitable) hand sanitizer.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @10:48AM
On the previous story, linked in TFS: https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?sid=38146&cid=1011789 [soylentnews.org]
https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/ShopHQ/491-451 [scene7.com]
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday July 11 2020, @04:12PM
The obligation to plan for the safety of complete morons is not one the rest of us should be saddled with.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:54AM
1. This one does as well. It's in the quoted bit even.
2a. Chainsaws do not need to come with "Not for rectal use" warnings and hand sanitizer does not need to be safe to drink.
2b. If they're mislabeled, that's a legit complaint. It should go without saying that you shouldn't drink anything you use to sanitize your hands except water though.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:34AM (1 child)
LOL
Title "Dupe"
Mod "Redundant"
(Score: 1, Redundant) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:47AM
Yeah, I expect the mod had some raging butthurt or some such, which makes it even funnier since they didn't know they were being funny.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Wednesday July 08 2020, @06:54AM (1 child)
I don't remember anything about people drinking hand sanitizers last week.
Indeed, it sounds like a very bad idea to me; even without methanol, I'd not be surprised if some of the other ingredients would have a bad effect on health.
But then, probably it's still better to drink the sanitizer than to inject it …
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Freeman on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:59PM
I submitted a story about the same thing and it was apparently published on 06/23. Look at the bottom of the current summary and the editor provided a link to the previous story. This is an update from the FDA with regards to more hand sanitizers that have the toxic substance methanol in them. My guess is it's illegal to put methanol in it and they have mislabeled the hand sanitizers.
and
Also, the previous announcement was a warning, but without known harm. Now, they are reporting that it has harmed people.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday July 08 2020, @05:47PM (1 child)
Wherein you claimed the methanol was harmless.
This article proves you wrong.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday July 11 2020, @04:13PM
No, but it does prove you can't read.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @01:47AM (5 children)
Build the wall.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @02:15AM (3 children)
American moonshine trumps Mexican?
I only bathe in 110 proof tequila.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @02:30AM (2 children)
With or without the worm?
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @02:40AM
With. Usually a couple of gerbils also.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:23AM
Worm provided by the bather.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @03:20AM
The ones drinking it aren't our best either, so that's kind of balances out.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @01:52AM (1 child)
Never drink Tijuana water.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @01:36PM
My bet is on China, and this type of thing has happened in the past so that people should be watching for it.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Opportunist on Wednesday July 08 2020, @07:50AM (6 children)
Why would someone drink hand sanitizer? If it's because of "but it has alcohol", two more questions arise: Considering that hand sanitizer is anything but cheap right now, why not normal alcohol? And second, how the fuck did KIDS get involved?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @10:52AM
Maybe because it comes shipped in a water bottle: https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/ShopHQ/491-451 [scene7.com]
(from https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?sid=38146&cid=1011789 [soylentnews.org] )
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @01:59PM
Drunkenfuck. Say, about 6-7 years ago.
Kids weren't involved then, they came as a result. Problem is we're still drinking ever since.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Freeman on Wednesday July 08 2020, @04:05PM (3 children)
For little kids, it's accidental, because kids do stupid things. Parenting is a full time job and the best you can do is make sure the toxic things aren't in reach. Normally, hand sanitizer, isn't lethal in small quantities.
For adolescents and adults, it's entirely possible it's, because "hold my beer", kinds of scenarios. Though, I'm guessing just as likely, recovering alcoholics, with no ready access to alcohol. But, hey, there's hand sanitizer. While it may be dumb and self-destructive to feed their habit. They don't deserve to die, because someone decided to stick methanol in hand sanitizer.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2020, @04:29PM (2 children)
Tide Pod Challenge. Some kids don't have the true definition of parents.
(Score: 2) by Opportunist on Wednesday July 08 2020, @07:50PM
Tide pods, they clean the dishes and the gene pool.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday July 09 2020, @03:29PM
While that is true, it's easy enough for an adolescent to access something stupid like that. Then, take the few seconds to try it out, without parent intervention. It's also doesn't necessitate that they have bad parents. Because, no matter what you do, you can't shelter your child from the world and get a well balanced child. Though, hopefully, you will have taught them better than to eat tide pods . . .
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Marvin on Thursday July 09 2020, @05:11AM
Can someone with deeper insight tell me why such stupid shit like drinking hand sanitizer or eating tide pods seems to be exclusively an U.S. american problem? Everywhere else in the world, people seem to know that ingesting cleaning products most likely is a bad idea?
On the one hand it's all about "hurr hurr mah freedumz!" on the other hand it's "Why didn't the government tell me I shouldn't eat poisonous stuff!!"