The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning about a hand sanitizer called SkinGuard24 and 10 others that have tested positive for methanol contamination. The renewal list of sanitizers for hands has increased over 100 products since the FDA released its first recall in June.
SkinGuard24 lists methanol among its ingredients, and the FDA has stated that the uptake of the chemical by the skin or its mouth can result in rashes, diseases, irreversible nerve damage and even death.
Other sanitizers recently placed on the FDA’s Do-Not-Use FDA list include Grupo Asimex Mexico’s Florance Morris Body Care Antiseptic Hand Sanitizer, Asimex International’s Florance Morris Body Care Antiseptic Hand Sanitizer, Roldan Industries’s Florance Morris Body Care Antiseptic Hand Sanitizer, Dinucica Solutions OZO Ozone Hand Sanitizer Gel, Goldsquare Hand Sanitizer and Medi Science Laboratories Germ Killa 70% Alcohol Hand Gel.
Newsweek contacted SkinGuard24 for comment.
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Most hand sanitizers are isopropyl alcohol, ethanol or n-propanol in concentrations of 60 to 95 percent, because these chemicals destroy the molecular structure of germs, viruses and other microorganisms that cause disease.
Sales of hand sanitizers have increased since the onset of the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic as more people try to clean their hands of possible coronavirus transmission.
As such, the FDA has closely monitored the safety, production, and ingredients of hand sanitizers, and issued public warnings about sanitizers that contain methanol and 1-propanol in particular. Anyone who encounters hazardous hand sanitizers is encouraged to report them to the FDA at 1-800-332-1088.
Prakash Mathema / AFP / Getty
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“Excessive exposure to methanol can result in nausea, vomiting, headaches, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death,” the FDA wrote in a Monday email alert.
According to the Methanol Institute, the global trade association for the methanol industry, ingesting as little as one to four ounces of methanol can cause irreversible damage to the nervous system, systemic acidosis (a buildup of acid in the body that leads to kidney failure), optic nerve damage and blindness as worse.
Exposure to methanol can also lead to headaches, weakness, lethargy, nausea, troublesome breathing, eye irritation, blurred vision and loss of consciousness. These symptoms may even appear 18 to 30 hours after admission.
The FDA recommends rinsing the skin or eyes with lukewarm water when exposed to methanol and contact a poison control center or seek immediate medical attention if someone swallows methanol.
“Although all persons using these products on their hands are at risk, young children who accidentally use these products and adults and adults who drink these products as an alcohol (ethanol) substitute are most at risk for methanol poisoning, “the warning went on.
On August 13, the FDA added several hand sanitizers from four U.S. states and China to its list for use.
