Now we are moving out of this pandemic slowly, .. wait... it is better to say now we are getting familiar with this COVID19 pandemic. We had lots of unexperienced unwanted experiences in last one year. However in our life we get many such experiences but those we got in last one year, we will never wish to get that.
It has become alarming now alcohol-based hand sanitizers that are being packaged in containers that may appear as food or drinks and may put consumers at risk of serious injury or death if ingested.
It was noticed that some hand sanitizers are being packaged in beer cans, children’s food pouches, water bottles, juice bottles and vodka bottles. It has been found that many hand sanitizers contain food flavors, such as chocolate or raspberry.
Manufacturers should be vigilant about packaging and marketing their hand sanitizers in food or drink packages in an effort to mitigate any potential inadvertent use by consumers.
In one recent example of consumer confusion, the FDA received a report that a consumer purchased a bottle they thought to be drinking water but was in fact hand sanitizer. The agency also received a report from a retailer about a hand sanitizer product marketed with cartoons for children that was in a pouch that resembles a snack. Drinking only a small amount of hand sanitizer is potentially lethal to a young child, who may be attracted by a pleasant smell or brightly colored bottle of hand sanitizer.
Hand sanitizer can be toxic when ingested. Recently there are increasing number of adverse events with hand sanitizer ingestion, including cardiac effects, effects on the central nervous system, hospitalizations and death, primarily reported to poison control centers and state departments of health.
If you have noticed any such event , feel free to share on health@phaf.in . May your story prevent others from any adverse incidence.