The National Poison Data System recorded more than 70,000 cases of children ingesting hand sanitizer from 2011 to 2014, according to a recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the CDC.
For the report, CDC researchers analyzed data for 70,669 children who were exposed to alcohol and nonalcohol hand sanitizers between 2011 and 2014. The data was reported to the National Poison Data System by 55 poison treatment centers across the country.
Among the 8,219 children who experience at least one adverse symptom from ingesting hand sanitizer, the most commonly reported symptoms were eye irritation, vomiting, oral irritation, abdominal pain and coughing. More severe adverse events associated with sanitizer poisoning were extremely rare. Five children experienced coma, three children had seizures, and two children experienced hypoglycemia, metabolic acidosis and respiratory depression.
While both nonalcoholic and alcoholic sanitizers can cause adverse effects, alcohol-based sanitizers were significantly more likely to do harm. More than 7,000 of the 8,219 reports of adverse effects were attributable to alcohol-based sanitizers. Children were also more likely to experience severe adverse effects after ingesting sanitizers made with alcohol.
Approximately 90 percent of the exposures occurred in children under five years of age from accidental ingestion. Children aged 6 to 12 years were more likely to intentional ingest alcohol-based sanitizers, suggesting a possible pattern of abuse among older children
"Caregivers and healthcare providers should be aware of the potential dangers associated with hand sanitizer ingestion," wrote the report's authors. "Children using alcohol hand sanitizers should be supervised and these products should be kept out of reach from children when not in use."
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