CDC Warns of Serious Adverse Events From Methanol-Based Hand Sanitizers

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a health advisory concerning the potential for serious adverse health events associated with the use of methanol-based hand sanitizer products (sanitizers or rubs).

Most commercially available alcohol-based hand sanitizer products contain ethanol or isopropanol as active ingredients. In June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised consumers not to use any hand sanitizer manufactured by "Eskbiochem SA de CV" due to the potential presence of methanol as an active ingredient. Methanol, considered a "toxic alcohol," can cause blindness and/or death when absorbed through the skin or when swallowed. The FDA has since identified additional alcohol-based hand sanitizer products that contain methanol and is working on a voluntary recall of these products.

In the health advisory, CDC provided the following recommendations for clinicians and public health officials:

  1. Clinicians should advise patients to immediately seek medical treatment if they have been exposed to methanol-containing alcohol-based hand sanitizers on the "FDA's testing and manufacturer's recalls" list and are experiencing symptoms.

  2. Clinicians should have a high index of suspicion for methanol poisoning when a patient presents with a history of alcohol-based hand sanitizer product ingestion or repeated use of these products on the skin. Signs and symptoms include headache, blurred vision or blindness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, loss of coordination, decreased level of consciousness, and laboratory findings (e.g., anion gap metabolic acidosis).

  3. Clinicians and public health practitioners should educate patients and the public to use alcohol-based hand sanitizer products only for hand hygiene.

  4. Clinicians and public health practitioners should educate patients and the public on the serious adverse health risks of ingesting alcohol-based hand sanitizer products.

  5. Clinicians and public health practitioners should educate patients and the public that some alcohol-based hand sanitizer products may contain a significant amount of methanol and using these products may result in the serious adverse health events noted above.

  6. Clinicians should contact the local poison center (800-222-1222) to report cases and to obtain specific medical management advice of methanol poisoning.