Why is it unsafe to use certain alcohol-based hand sanitizers?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to warn consumers and health care professionals not to use certain alcohol-based hand sanitizers due to the dangerous presence of methanol, or wood alcohol – a substance often used to create fuel and antifreeze that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin as well as.
What kind of hand sanitizer should I use during the COVID-19 pandemic?
If soap and water are not readily available, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends consumers use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent ethanol.
Can rubbing alcohol kill COVID-19?
Many forms of alcohol, including rubbing alcohol, can kill germs. You can dilute alcohol with water (or aloe vera to make hand sanitizer) but be sure to keep an alcohol concentration of around 70% to kill coronaviruses.
What percentage of alcohol in hand sanitizer is enough to replace hand washing during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Promote hand washing often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use of hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.
What are the dangers of using methanol for sanitation?
Methanol exposure can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death. Although people using these products on their hands are at risk for methanol poisoning, young children who ingest these products and adolescents and adults who drink these products as an alcohol (ethanol) substitute are most at risk. Consumers who have been exposed to hand sanitizer containing methanol and are experiencing symptoms should seek immediate medical treatment for potential reversal of the toxic effects of methanol poisoning.