- Last week, the FDA added five new products to its list of hand sanitizers that contain or could potentially contain the toxic substance methanol.
- If you have any of the hand sanitizer products listed below, stop using them immediately.
- Name brand hand sanitizer was incredibly hard to find at the beginning of the pandemic, but familiar, safe products are much easier to find now.
There are three general rules that we have been told to follow for much of the novel coronavirus pandemic: Socially distance ourselves from others, wear a face covering, and wash our hands or use hand sanitizer frequently. Although there are those who might try to convince you otherwise, none of these guidelines are especially difficult to follow, but there’s one wrinkle worth noting. It turns out that not all hand sanitizer is safe, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has started keeping a list of products with toxic ingredients that everyone should avoid.
We first covered this list a few weeks ago, but last Thursday, the FDA issued an update with even more sanitizers that tested positive for methanol contamination. Methanol is a substance which, as the FDA explains, “can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested and can be life-threatening when ingested.”
The following products contain methanol and should be avoided, according to the latest update from the FDA. If your search for sanitizer amid the Purell shortage of 2020 led you to any of these products, stop using them immediately and don’t buy them again, as they could do far more harm than good:
- Grupo Insoma’s Hand sanitizer Gel Unscented 70% Alcohol (NDC: 75744-0200-3, 75744-0200-4, 75744-0201-5, 75744-0202-1, 75744-0250-1, 75744-0250-2, 75744-0500-1, 75744-1000-1, 75744-1000-3, 75744-1001-1)
- Transliquid Technologies Mystic Shield Protection Topical Solution (NDC: 75477-435-02, 75477-435-10, 75477-435-12, 75477-435-25, 75477-435-50, 75477-534-10)
- Soluciones Cosmeticas Bersih Hand Sanitizer Gel Fragrance Free (NDC: 75165-003-02, 75165-004-01, 75165-005-01, 75165-006-01, 75165-008-01, 75165-250-01, 75165-600-01)
- Soluciones Cosmeticas Antiseptic Alcohol 70% Topical Solution hand sanitizer (NDC: Not listed)
- Tropicosmeticos’ Britz Hand Sanitizer Ethyl Alcohol 70% (NDC: 76676-402-01 to 76676-402-20)
In addition to the products named above, the FDA previously warned that the following hand sanitizers from Mexico’s Eskbiochem SA de CV should be avoided due to the potential presence of methanol:
- All-Clean Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-002-01)
- Esk Biochem Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-007-01)
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-008-04)
- Lavar 70 Gel Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-006-01)
- The Good Gel Antibacterial Gel Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-010-10)
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-005-03)
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-009-01)
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-003-01)
- Saniderm Advanced Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-001-01)
“Consumers who have been exposed to hand sanitizer containing methanol and are experiencing symptoms should seek immediate treatment for potential reversal of toxic effects of methanol poisoning,” the FDA writes. “Substantial methanol exposure can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death. Although all persons using these products on their hands are at risk for methanol poisoning, young children who accidently ingest these products and adolescents and adults who drink these products as an alcohol (ethanol) substitute, are most at risk.”
