The latest case studies published in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine emphasized the serious concerns about the abuse of alcohol-based hand sanitizers. The alcohol in these products is not the same as the type that can be found in drinks.
One of the letters written to the journal describes the case of a 49-year-old American prisoner who became intoxicated by drinking alcohol-based hand sanitizer. CBC News announced that the letter informed that the inmate was described as becoming "red-eyed, loony and combative" after he was seen to drink from a gallon container of Purell hand sanitizer.
Another letter describes a 43-year-old alcoholic suffering strange chest pains who used to drink hand wash that had isopropyl alcohol from a dispenser in one of American hospitals washroom.
The authors of the second letter noted that ingesting approximately 200 millilitres of isopropanol may prove fatal due to the fact that it depresses the central nervous system and the heart, according to CBC News.
The authors concluded that it may be a good idea to alter the labels on alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
