Hand Sanitizer Can Make You Drunk

It’s 140 proof, it’s easy to buy, and you don’t even a fake ID. No wonder a Maryland prisoner knocked back Purell and ended up both drunk and in a hospital: The October incident, detailed today in the New England Journal ofMedicine as one of the first documented cases of its kind, has raisedquestions about […]

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It's 140 proof, it's easy to buy, and you don't even a fake ID. No wonder a Maryland prisoner knocked back Purell and ended up both drunk and in a hospital:

The October incident, detailed today in the New England Journal ofMedicine as one of the first documented cases of its kind, has raisedquestions about the potential abuse of alcohol-based hand sanitizers byteenagers and other at-risk groups.

"The widespread use of handsanitizer is fraught with a great deal of danger," said Suzanne Doyon,
medical director of the Maryland Poison Center, who co-authored aletter in the journal about the case. "From an infection controlperspective they are excellent. But there is this risk involved."

Purell,
which is 70 percent alcohol, is far more potent than conventionaldrinks such as beer (5 percent), wine (12 percent) or liquor (40
percent). Doyon said the non-alcohol ingredients in Purell don't pose ahealth risk if ingested...

Doyon called for limited access to hand sanitizers in rehabilitation clinics, prisons and hospitals.

I'm going to take a few minutes off. Feel free to make your own sarcastic remark about forbidding hand sanitizers in hospitals.

Inmate's High Traced to Hand Sanitizer [WaPo]