It comes after repeated warnings about methanol in hand sanitizers and increased calls to poison centers nationwide, including in Minnesota.
“Methanol is associated with some pretty bad diseases that it can cause in the human body,” said Dr. Travis Olives, a toxicologist at Minnesota Poison Control System and emergency physician at Hennepin Healthcare. “Our conversations run the gamut out of what we would call the ‘worries good’ by being very critically ill.”
Four deaths have been reported so far due to methanol exposure, in Arizona and New Mexico.
Methanol is a chemical that is often used to make fuel and antifreeze.
Dr. Olives said you probably won’t have any serious side effects from just rubbing a methanol-contaminated hand sanitizer on your skin.
“That said, we do not want to have it in the community,” said Drs. Olives. “We do not want people to use it on their hands, even if we would not expect it to cause major problems.”
Dr Olives said the main concern is people who submit products that contain methanol, of those who intentionally drink hand-held drugs as an alcohol substitute for young children who accidentally swallow it.
“It can cause major vision problems and in really bad cases, it can actually cause permanent blindness,” said Drs. Olives.
The Minnesota Poison Control System shared data with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS showing a significant increase in calls to its center regarding unsafe exposure to hand sanitizer in recent months.
There were nearly 100 calls in the month of July, which is about four times the number received in July 2019.
Dr. Olives says the Minnesota Poison Control System has removed several callers per week to the hospital for exposure to methanol.
“One of the things we are worried about is that these sanitizers will be on hand in people’s homes for a long time. We do not normally dispose of these bottles with sanitizer until it is gone,” he said. Dr. Olives. “We think this is a problem that we need to look at a number of times over the coming months, as these are declining in households.”
Contaminated products are unlikely to list methanol or 1-propanol on the label, so you should check the FDA’s list of recalled sanitizer to make sure you are safe.
If you are concerned about possible exposure to a processed product, you can reach the Minnesota Poison Control System at any time by calling 1-800-222-1222. You can also get help online here.
