Hand Sanitizer Cocktails Send Teens To California Hospitals

According to a ridiculous column in today's "Huffington Post.."Hand sanitizer is supposed to kill germs, but some southern California teens are using it kill brain cells as well. In the last few months, six teenagers have shown up in two San Fernando Valley emergency rooms with alcohol poisoning after drinking hand sanitizer, according to the Los Angeles Times. This insane use of hand sanitizer has public health officials worrying that it's just the start of dangerous trend. Hand sanitizers use a formula up to 62 percent ethyl alcohol to kill germs, but some students desperate for kicks are using salt to separate the alcohol from the sanitizer, and making a potent 120-proof liquid equal in strength to a shot of hard liquor..."

Here's the insane part: the topic of kids (of all ages) getting sick after imbibing on alcohol hand sanitizer is hardly a new news story. This blog has been re-distributing similar stories from the US, Canada and Europe for the past 4 years.

Here's the other insane part: according to various news accounts..."Los Angeles officials are recommending that people use foam based sanitizers as an alternative to the alcohol gel products." What the officials in lala land forgot to advise is that people should be using NON-ALCOHOL, foam-format hand sanitizers. After all, whether  ingesting alcohol in foam or gel, you're still going to have the same side-effects. Here's the latest video clip

Deadly cocktail: Mouthwash, sanitizer: kasa.com

Gastrointestinal Infection Deaths More Than Doubled : #C.diff: Hand Hygiene Facts v. Fiction

Noted the New York Times, the US Centers For Disease Control (CDC) says that Clostridium difficile aka C.diff was the root cause of a doubling of US fatalities attributed to gastrointestinal infections during the ten year period from 1997 to 2007.

Aside from the head scratching caused by wondering why the recently-released study is otherwise five years delayed, the spike in visitors to this blog using key phrases "what type of hand sanitizer kills C.diff", "does alcohol kill c.diff?" and similar queries--here's what we know:
1. Alcohol rubs do not kill C.diff.
2. Alcohol rubs do however kill protective skin cells that typically block bad bacteria.
3. Benzalkonium Chloride-based hand sanitizers do not kill protective skin cells and ARE effective against C.diff (veg.)*
4.* "veg." is the "vegetative" strain, one of the two strains of C.diff. Spore-based c.Diff  is the more typical form of c.diff and is transmitted in various ways.

Alcohol-based Hand Sanitizer causes $1mil blaze at Ohio industrial facility

Inspiring one to ask: how stupid are these people?

FINDLAY, OH (THE COURIER) - A blaze that destroyed a Findlay recycling business has been ruled accidental.

The fire struck g2 revolution, 200 Stanford Parkway, on Nov. 18 after a repairman left a furnace on while repairing it, according to the State Fire Marshal's Office.

The furnace was designed to run on alcohol-based hand sanitizer, according to the fire marshal. About two gallons of the liquid ignited in the furnace and dripped into a nearby container holding 275 gallons of hand sanitizer, according to the state agency.

#Triclosan Danger: FDA In the Pocket of Manufacturers :NYT Report

Once again, media reports about the dangers of Triclosan and efforts by both consumer groups and health care advocates to block the use of this chemical in hand hygiene, facial washes and toothpaste products are being impeded by the FDA.

According to this NYT report, the US FDA has for years repeatedly deferred from making any comments as to the potential dangers of triclosan, and ignored repeated scientific findings which have found this chemical leads to resistance against various bacteria, despite findings reached by among others, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which found that triclosan in high concentration is a carcinogen.

Why would the FDA repeatedly ignore multiple and unrelated demands to block this product from use in consumer healthcare products?

Perhaps its the same reason why the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has a similar and long history of ignoring complaints against major banks; both of these agencies have a long history of deferring to their most significant constituents; the companies that profit the most from selling the products that are supposed to be 'regulated' by these inept federal employees, many of whom bide their time in cubicles until they get rewarded with high-paying private sector jobs from the companies they've been 'regulating' for years. 

The responsible alcohol-free hand sanitizer makers use benzalkonium chloride as the anti-bacterial agent in their products, and leading health care venues have already prohibited triclosan-based soaps and sanitizers.

#Alcohol-Hand Sanitizers increase #norovirus risk: study says

A survey of 161 long-term care facilities in the United States presented at an American College of Preventative Medicine meeting in February revealed an association between the preferential use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers for routine hand hygiene with an increased risk for outbreaks of norovirus, the highly infectious virus that causes most cases of acute gastroenteritis

Of the 45 facilities that reported preferential use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers in a recent survey, 53% experienced a confirmed outbreak of norovirus, compared with 18% of the 17 facilities that used hand sanitizers less often than soap and water.

"...these findings indicate that alcohol-based hand sanitizers might be “suboptimal in controlling the spread of noroviruses,” said Dr. David Blaney of the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Other studies have demonstrated that alcohol-based hand sanitizers are often ineffective against nonenveloped viruses, including norovirus, suggesting their use may not be appropriate in settings that frequently experience outbreaks, such as long-term care facilities..

for the full story:  http://www.cmaj.ca/site/earlyreleases/10aug11_hand-sanitizers-may-increase-norovirus-risk.xhtml

The #Buzz from too much #alcoholhandsanitizer

Research experts at the University of Florida have found yet another reason not to use alcohol-based hand sanitizers. The latest academic study, first made public on May 12, has become the subject of global news coverage.

Lobbyists for the makers of alcohol-based hand sanitizer products have yet to comment on the latest independent study that raises yet more alarms for a outdated healthcare product that has become increasingly under fire, and not only because the product is flammable.

The study was based on daily hand sanitizer application required for use by professional health care workers, which includes workers at public and private hospitals, as well as most licensed senior care facilities.

The lobbyists and spokespeople for the largest manufacturers are expected to dispute the findings, and one industry analyst expect leading makers to argue the report was flawed because those tested represent a unique and small minority of people that are required to have clean hands.

We would say the following to that "small minority" of people who want their hands clean of bacteria and easily-transmitted viruses, and use hand sanitizer products whether they're required to or not:

"There actually are other highly effective hand hygiene products that do not rely on alcohol as an ingredient. Many of these other products are safer to use and don't irritate the skin with excessive use; a notorious "feature" of alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

In fact, since 2007, the number of alcohol-free hand sanitizer brands as increased from less than five to more than 25 that compete on a national and in some cases, global basis.

The buzz about too much hand sanitizer: MyFoxTAMPABAY.com

#Japan #Tsunami & #Earthquake Relief Requies Alcohol-Free-#HandSanitizer

Disaster zones call for hand hygiene emergency supplies as a first response. Hand sanitizer products supplied should be alcohol-free because typical alcohol-based hand sanitizers such as GOJO Purell, GermX and cannot be transported via cargo plane due to flash point risk, and they must travel by ship from port of manufacture to destination. See suppliers of alcohol-free hand sanitizers for more information.

UK Hand Hygiene Study: $4 Billion Cost

An independent survey amongst office workers has shown that the major cause of absence from work is colds and ‘flu and a major contributor to the spread of the infection at work is poor hand hygiene. But to date, the hand drying element is rarely referred to. Indeed the survey showed that whilst 87% of office employees thought hand washing was effective at controlling the spread of infection, only 13% thought hand drying had any contribution to make.

However, the latest study on effective hand hygiene carried out by Bradford University confirms the truth of the widely accepted view that hand washing is a hugely important infection control measure, a view also held by the Health Protection Agency and the NHS Infection Control Team. This latest survey, commissioned by Connect Hygiene Products, showed that 93% of employees thought that too. However, the Bradford study goes on to state that hand drying is vitally important in preventing post wash translocation of bacteria from the hand’s surface to the next hard surface it touches.

Teacher Sentenced :Forced Students to Lick Alcohol Hand Sanitizer from His Hands

we just can't make this stuff up...just another of thousands of cases, and why this blog has been promoting the use of alcohol-free hand sanitizer

Michigan Teen Spikes Teacher's Soda With Alcohol Hand Sanitizer

MICHIGAN CITY — Elston Middle School staff called police to the school Thursday to deal with a student who allegedly put alcohol-based hand sanitizer in a teacher’s pop can Thursday.

Police arrested the 13-year-old boy at 3:10 p.m. and charged him with criminal recklessness.
According to the police report, the teacher complained of feeling ill after drinking the beverage, which allegedly tasted funny and smelled like alcohol. A school nurse released the teacher after calling poison control.

While the teacher was in the nurse’s office, the class was asked what happened. According to the police report, 13 of the 18 students in the class said they saw the accused boy use the hand sanitizer, and a few saw him put it into the teacher’s drink.


The root beer and alcohol hand sanitizer were taken as evidence.