If you have hand sanitizer at home, you’ll want to recheck your bottle.
The FDA continues to update its recall list for dozens of brands of hand sanitizers, saying they contain a form of alcohol that can be toxic or life-threatening when ingested.
Several people report that they bought hand sanitizer on that list at supermarkets in the Tampa Bay area, including Costco.
Local mother Erin Greenwood is one of them. She bought a bottle of Costco Blumen Hand Sanitizer a few weeks ago.
“My two children, ages four and two, have used it regularly,” Greenwood said.
They used it regularly until Thursday, when Erin saw reports of the FDA recall, and Blumen was first on the list.
“In fact, they spilled it all over the place, so there was a lot about them at one point, and again luckily nothing happened, but it’s still something I think we need to be aware of,” Greenwood said.
The FDA recall list now includes more than 75 brands of hand sanitizers that are labeled to contain “ethanol” or “ethyl alcohol,” which is what you want your hand sanitizer to have, but actually tested positive for “methanol”. type of wood alcohol that can be toxic and even fatal.
“The hand sanitizer was made in Mexico. We discovered this in late June, when we had a couple of patients who had ingested this hand sanitizer and were severely poisoned, ”said Dr. Alfred Aleguas, Director of the Florida Poison Information Center in Tampa.
Several people were poisoned and several people died in New Mexico after ingesting the hand sanitizer.
Since then, the Florida Poisons Information Center in Tampa reports a more than 300 percent increase in calls related to the hand sanitizer.
“Most of them were skin exposures or hand exposures. People are concerned, of course, when they discover that this toxic alcohol-containing hand sanitizer is out there, ”said Dr. Aleguas.
Hand sanitizer has been hard to come by in the past few months, so what exactly should you look for when you find it?
Dr. Aleguas says you will want to find bottles of hand sanitizer that contain one of two things:
- Ethanol, with a concentration of 70% or more
- Ethyl alcohol, with a concentration of 70% or more
Dr. Aleguas also recommends purchasing hand sanitizer that was made here in the United States.
“Anything that is done in Mexico, I would hesitate to use it,” said Dr. Aleguas.
If you have questions about your hand sanitizer, the Florida Poison Information Center asks you to call them at: 1-800-222-1222.
You can also visit the Florida Poisons Information Center by clicking here.
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