The Food and Drug Administration warns that dozens of hand sanitizers should be avoided after they tested positive for the toxic substance methanol.
The agency issued the alert on July 2 and warned of the effects of methanol, which can cause various side effects when absorbed through the skin. In total, the FDA has added 46 brands of hand sanitizers to its list of toxic products.
“The agency is aware of adults and children who ingest methanol-contaminated hand sanitizers that have caused recent adverse events, such as blindness, hospitalizations and death,” the agency said in a statement.
Consumers who have been exposed to the substance while using hand sanitizer should seek treatment to reverse its effects, the FDA said. Exposure can cause vomiting, headaches, blurred vision, blindness, seizures, nausea, permanent damage to the nervous system, and even death.
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The agency said it has seen an increase in hand sanitizer products that claim to contain ethanol, but have tested positive for methanol. The FDA announced last month that nine hand sanitizers should be avoided due to the possible presence of the substance.
The FDA list contains 59 toxic products, some of which have been recalled. Everything seemed to have been made in Mexico.
