PSA - DD ate hand sanitizer - DANGEROUS

[magnoliaparadise]

I just had a scare. I am getting rid of my hand sanitizer and wanted to tell others that even a few licks off hands can be dangerous.

My 16 month old was sitting down with hand sanitizer about an hour ago, pumping away at the bottle, a huge puddle on the chair where she had climbed up and on the table. She was licking her lips when I found her. She cried when I took the Purell away. It was all over her breath. I called the poison control and read the ingredient from the Purell and it's basically 65% alcohol, which is like 120 or more proof alcohol.

They said to watch her and if she ingested too much, she will act drunk (slur, wobbly, lethargic, glassy-eyed). They said I need to take her to the ER to test her blood level if she seems remotely drunk and that I shouldn't let her sleep for an hour post ingestion. It was the first time I have called Poison Control when they sounded concerned.

My kid hasn't shown any symptoms, so I think we are ok, but I am still anxious and have researched this online and it looks like even a few licks of this stuff off of one's hands can be extremely dangerous for toddlers and even young children. Here is a helpful site for anyone interested:
http://kidemergencies.com/handsanitizerpoisoning.html

Just wanted to let everyone know how dangerous it is. I had heard it was, but was using it anyway and now I won't.

[kaharris83]

Thank you for sharing. I hope your DD continues to be fine. I normally use the Cleanwell stuff but the flu has me scared so I switched to Purell. DS1 licks the Cleanwell right off his hands so I guess I will get rid of the Purell.

[MamaMolly]

Just as an FYI, don't freak out when you get a ton of spam mail and phone calls from poison control. I have called ONCE with Lula when she was a toddler and I felt like I was on a hit list!

[LizLemon]

Thank you for sharing. I hope your DD continues to be fine. I normally use the Cleanwell stuff but the flu has me scared so I switched to Purell. DS1 licks the Cleanwell right off his hands so I guess I will get rid of the Purell.

Just licking it off the hands should be fine. The concern is kids who drink a significant portion of the bottle and are at risk of alcohol poisioning from that.

[Rainbows&Roses]

Just licking it off the hands should be fine. The concern is kids who drink a significant portion of the bottle and are at risk of alcohol poisioning from that.

Yes. That linked article pretty much said the same thing. The women in the story really had no clue how much the child ingested apparently.

[TwinFoxes]

My kid hasn't shown any symptoms, so I think we are ok, but I am still anxious and have researched this online and it looks like even a few licks of this stuff off of one's hands can be extremely dangerous for toddlers and even young children. Here is a helpful site for anyone interested:
http://kidemergencies.com/handsanitizerpoisoning.html

Just wanted to let everyone know how dangerous it is. I had heard it was, but was using it anyway and now I won't.

First off, I'm really glad your DD is ok. It sounds like a very scary incident.

According to the article you linked to, it takes much more than a few licks:

If one pump of a 62% ethanol-containing hand sanitizer was ingested by an average 2 year old weighing 15 kg (33 lbs), a blood alcohol level of 17.3 mg/dL would be expected, considerably below a toxic level of 80-100 mg/dL. Symptoms of ethanol intoxication in children can begin at a level of 50mg/dL.

The same child would have to drink approximately 4-5 teaspoons of the sanitizer to produce toxic effects requiring medical attention (data from the Texas Poison Control Network).

I'm not saying people should necessarily use the hand sanitizer, but just wanted to point out that a lick or two shouldn't scare people too much (it sounds like your DD had more).