Wednesday, 5 August 2009

warning : hand sanitizers are hazardous to children

i've never been one who'd tell other people / moms what to do with their kids, unless if they ask me for an opinion. but i think, if there are things that i know or learn that are wrong and can potentially bring harm to the child, i think i have a responsibility to say something.

today, i went to suryati's blog (sorry babe, i have no intent to condemn) and she was encouraging people to get the hand sanitizers to keep germs and dirt at bay, for the sake of her baby, and her family. that's all commendable. i do that too especially when i have the flu or cough, and after i get out of the bathroom. i don't quite like the smell though, but i like the cooling feeling when it lather it all over my hands. but then i saw a picture of her adorable micah playing with the hand sanitizer, i know i had to say something.

i read an email circulation telling this story about how a 4 year old girl licked the gel off her hands and then was sent to a hospital due to some sort of complications that doctors can't figure out. after taking some blood test, they found out that her alcohol blood content was alarmingly high and immediately suspect the parents for abuse. they finally figured out the cause and it was due to the hand sanitizer, of all things.

apparently, there are more cases such as this and it's not urban legend. it's true. in fact there are many other sites that support this claim, just go ahead and google it. it's found to be hazardous due to its high alcohol content (some up to 70% ethanol) and just small amount of it ingested by a child can lead to alcohol poisoning and other health complications such as liver failure, and in high doses, if not detected or treated soon, it can lead to death. even 1 or 2 ounces of it can be fatal to infant and toddlers.

so please be careful. child proofing our house goes beyond installing security gates or child locks and keeping sharp objects hidden, all your meds and ointments need to be out of sight too. try not to sanitize your hands in front of them too because kids, they tend to imitate whatever we do.

better be safe than sorry.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

no worries lisha...sharing is caring n thank u sooooo much for informing me, kalo tak sampai bila i tak tahu. nak update my entry tuh, yg mana for more details gi kat blog u hehehehhe mmg sah i ni dasar "rajin"

Fadzlishah Johanabas said...

Them sanitizers have 70% ethanol/alcohol when regular beer has about 15%. At most, vodka, contains 35% to 50% ethanol, and that's uber strong.

Squirt, slap and lather: good.

Licky licky: not good.

Whitelab Maira said...

and so the wipes saves the day again :)
I'm still waiting for the one from Carefour to finish before I buy the one from Fiffy yang you recommend much cheaper. I pernah gaduh dengan mak guard Carefour Batu Pahat sebab insist nak bawak my bag with the huge bottle of wipes masuk. Until I made "TV3" threats baru dia bagi dengan muka tak sememeh. Pak/Mak Guard Carefour Subang tak lak sibuk2. Cakap baby bag, dia trus bagi laluan.

I was skeptical about the alchohol content as well. It always gives my hand this drying effect yang tak selesa so now I know where it comes from

Whitelab Maira said...

Lupa nak add...
The wipes I use to wipe my hands or Sya's hand lepas pegang sana sini

The skeptical part was the sanitizer

Miss Me said...

thanks 4 d information.

i just bought a 200ml instant hand sanitizer to be used dekat office before handling breastpump. i hope all my ebm semuanya ok.

Anasfadilah said...

dettol punya sanitizer active ingredient dia meamgn 70% alcohol..depa guan ethanol

biasa dalam lab untuk nersihkan lab bench guna 70% ethanol juga .

kalau macam tu saya boleh jual disinfectant kat luar dengan kos murah

curik Absolute ethanol siki,pastu dilute dengan air 30:70

letak dalam botol air biasa tu label disinfectant Dilot

murah2 RM2 je sebotol...hahaha



p/s:;kes H1N1 up sikit harga jadi RM2.50..hahah

@jellyD :: lepas guna hand sanitizer tu biar kering kat tngan tu baru handle ur breast pump..takut kaalu basah dia contaminate ur breast pump pula :D

Once a sucker said...

This is a classic case of people becoming suckers with big corp who are out to skin their money. It also shows how these kind of products makes us lazy.

In the first place, why one would need a hand sanitizer when you can just wash your hands with soap.

Of course la these products have high alcohol content. It needs alcohol to kill the germs. Its not like its some kind of magic formula to get rid of germs.

Moral of the story...just basuh tangan with soap and water.