You would think this would not have to be discussed, but here we are. Do not ingest hand sanitizers or disinfectants of any kind. You could go blind, or die, or both.
Fifteen people have become sick in Arizona and New Mexico after ingesting methanol based hand sanitizer. Four of them have died. To be fair, most of the poison victims have had a history of drinking alcohol based hand sanitizers that normally would contain ethanol or isopropanol. Ingesting methanol, however, can cause blindness or death.
Ingesting non-food substances that contain alcohol is nothing new. Back in the good old days, before the Covid-19 pandemic, drinking hand sanitizer was the domain of desperate alcoholics, or children looking for a good time.
Now that Covid-19 is here, we have additional pressures causing many people to turn to overuse and misuse of alcohol-based substances. Those who suffer from alcoholism might find themselves in the position of resorting to ingesting sanitizer. Unfortunately, times are tough.
We are not just grappling with high unemployment, increased poverty, social unrest, illness, and uncertainty about the future, but we must navigate misinformation. This misinformation comes from the highest levels, which becomes difficult to refute.
When President Trump ‘muses aloud’ about therapeutic treatments for Covid-19, people listen. Apparently, they will also follow his advice, no matter how bizarre sounding–like injecting disinfectant.
(A) CDC survey taken shortly after President Donald Trump publicly asked whether injecting disinfectants could treat COVID-19 found more than a third of Americans misused such products to try to prevent infection.
Reuters
More than a third of Americans misused disinfectant after Trump suggested it. That is a big deal and speaks to why the President should speak carefully and precisely about all matters pertaining to public health. People have admitted to drinking, inhaling, and washing their bodies with household disinfectants.
