The United States Food and Drug Administration has warned against the use of hand sanitisers that contains methanol.
Five hand sanitizers have been added to its list of products that have tested positive for a toxic chemical. These additional hand sanitizer products tested positive for methanol, which has been confirmed to be toxic if ingested, inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
Exposure to significant amounts of methanol (which is an industrial cleaning solvent) can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death. Before now, research by the agency led to the warning against the use of nine hand sanitizers manufactured by a Mexican company called Eskbiochem SA, because samples of their products had tested positive for methanol.
However, anyone who have been exposed to these hand sanitizers should seek immediate medical attention, the FDA warns.
The five hand sanitizers added to the FDA’s list includes:
1. Grupo Insoma’s Hand Sanitizer Gel Unscented, 70% alcohol.
2. Transliquid Technologies’ Mystic Shield Protection Hand Sanitizer.
3. Soluciones Cosmeticas’ Bersih Hand Sanitizer Gel Fragrance Free.
4. Soluciones Cosmeticas Antiseptic Alcohol 70% Topical Solution Hand Sanitizer.
5. Tropicosmeticos’ Britz Hand Sanitizer Ethyl Alcohol 70%.
Interestingly, these have all been manufactured in Mexico as well. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that proper hand hygiene is an effective response to Covid-19, preferably using soap and water if available, scrubbing your hands for 20 seconds. In a situation where there is no soap and water at close proximity, the agency recommends using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% ethanol or 70% isopropanol instead.
So basically, everyone is adviced to avoid these 14 hand sanitizers here:
Bio AAA Advance Hand Sanitizer, LumiSkin Advance Hand Sanitizer, QualitaMed Hand Sanitizer, All-Clean Hand Sanitizer, Esk Biochem Hand Sanitizer, Lavar 70 Gel Hand Sanitizer, The Good Gel Antibacterial Gel Hand Sanitizer, CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer (75%, 80% alcohol), Saniderm Advanced Hand Sanitizer, Hand sanitizer Gel Unscented 70% Alcohol, Bersih Hand Sanitizer Gel Fragrance Free, Antiseptic Alcohol 70% Topical Solution hand sanitizer, Mystic Shield Protection hand sanitizer, Britz Hand Sanitizer Ethyl Alcohol 70%.
If you are currently feeling protected by using any of the above mentioned products, then you are at risk of heart, kidney and brain problems; in other words, metabolic acidosis which effectively destroys tissues in your body. The use of these sanitizers containing methanol can also cause irreversible blindness. Be warned!!
