Part of the changes in people’s daily hygiene practices brought on by the new coronavirus pandemic is the frequency of handwashing.

Hand hygiene has been found to be a critical component in preventing the spread of COVID-19. Health experts also advise everyone to have hand sanitiser on hand. Correctly formulated hand sanitisers (e.g. with at least 85 per cent ethanol or 70 per cent isopropyl alcohol) are effective in killing most germs. These include viruses, bacteria and fungi.

Hand sanitisers are viable alternatives for maintaining hand hygiene, especially when soap and water are not available. This is why many parents now have their kids take packets of hand sanitiser as part of their school hygiene kit. However, parents and guardians are advised to take extra precautions in giving these products to children.

Hand sanitiser toxicity

Since hand sanitisers are formulated to destroy pathogens, they are toxic when ingested. Most alcohol-based sanitisers have a minimum of 60 per cent alcohol content. This means that any accidental ingestion is enough to poison anyone.

In other countries like the U.S., there have been reports of both adults and children accidentally poisoned by hand sanitiser.

Those involving adults deliberately drinking hand sanitiser containing methanol were linked to misinformation online. Earlier in the pandemic, rumours spread that “drinking highly concentrated alcohol could disinfect the body and kill the virus.” This led to the deaths of about 800 people, whilst around 5,900 people were hospitalised. These poisoning incidents also led to 60 people becoming totally blind.

In one prominent case involving an 18-month-old child, the grandmother mistook a hand sanitiser pouch for her grandson’s juice. The product was clearly labelled; however, the packaging was designed to look fun and featured a popular child-friendly character. While the hand sanitiser was designed this way to be attractive to children and encourage them to clean their hands while in school, younger kids who cannot read may also make the mistake of assuming that the pouch is food.

After the incident, the product was promptly recalled from store shelves. Similar accidents have also been reported in Australia, prompting health authorities to issue warnings regarding children and hand sanitiser use.

The call for proper packaging

The spate of hand sanitiser poisoning incidents has led consumer protection agencies and health authorities to issue dire warnings.

In Australia, Consumer Protection and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) are working together to prevent more accidents from happening. They have been working with manufacturers to ensure hand sanitiser packaging does not in any way resemble food or drink products. They also released a hand sanitiser packaging and labelling guide for suppliers.

Those who use personalised bottles to buy hand sanitiser at refilling stations have also been instructed to label their bottles properly.

FeverMates Hand Sanitisers

At FeverMates, we’re proud to tell our customers that our Australia-made hand sanitisers do not in any way resemble food or drink products. Our bottles are clear and properly labelled to indicate they contain hand sanitiser.

As a necessary precaution, we have included the poisons info line on our labels to provide useful information should users need medical assistance in case an accidental poisoning takes place.

When buying hand sanitiser, it is important to always check the label. Doing so helps to ensure the product does not contain allergens a family member might be sensitive to.

If a product does not contain an ingredient list, please report it to the ACCC.

Also, hand sanitiser must always be kept out of the reach of children and should only be used by kids with adult supervision. Keep alcohol-based products away from heat sources as they are flammable.

In case of accidental ingestion or poisoning, please notify the Poisons Information Centre ASAP on 13 11 26.