How can hand sanitizer be a cause of… sickness? It may seem ridiculous, but there is a way to connect the two. Hand sanitizer is a cause of kids being rushed to the hospital. This anti-germ fluid may seem harmless at first glance, but going in depth unravels a whole new story. On September 14, 2015, six year old Nhaijah Russell consumed three to four of a seemingly harmless liquid hand sanitizer during class at school. “It had tasted really good,”she spoke, but that was no excuse for what happened after. The sanitizer contained a large amount of alcohol that even a few squirts(2-3)could cause alcohol poisoning. In result, Nhaijah became dangerously drunk and was admitted to the emergency room in the Gwinnett Medical Center, near Atlanta, …show more content…
Since 2010, cases of an analysis by the Georgia Poison Center report a 400% increase of calls relating to children under 12 swallowing hand santatizer. Cases jumped from 3,266 in 2010 to 16,117 in 2014, a quadruple increase! “Alcohol amount in wine and beer contain about 12% and 5% of alcohol. Hand sanitizers contain 45% to 90%, so high that even ingesting small amounts can cause alcohol poisoning,” informed Dr. Gaylord Lopez, the Georgia Poison Center’s director. Alcohol poisoning can cause confusion, vomiting and drowsiness. Schools that don't switch to no-alcohol based hand sanitizers should at least store them out of reach. Attractive flavors (orange, strawberry, banana etc.) are appealing to kids. Some like the taste; others do it purposely for a …show more content…
Viral videos had shown teens laughing as they purposely consumed hand sanitizer for a dare, using salt to break the alcohol from the sanitizer to get even a more powerful dose. Tutorial videos all over the web showed how to do so. Many, who are under aged and have no access to beer and vodka swallow the sanitizer to get drunk. Even worse, they buy pocket sized bottles, which is equivalent to 2-3 shots of hard liquor or huge tubs at stores. As many as six California teenagers that month became so poisoned from the alcohol that they needed to be hospitalized. Students at Gale Ranch had something to say about teens their age swallowing hand sanitizers, mostly for dares. “It is stupid, weird, and dangerous!”, an anonymous 8th grader replied. “Idiotic...”, another simply stated. Most students didn’t even realize hand sanitizer is dangerous, even though the label mentions a high percentage of alcohol which is deadly if