Use caution with sanitizers around children

We know to store cleaners and medicines out of reach of children, but what about that hand sanitizer we’ve been generously applying the past year?

Exercise caution, as hand sanitizers contain isopropyl alcohol or ethyl alcohol, the latter being the same stuff found in beer, wine, and other liquor, not to mention perfume and aftershave — but at higher concentrations. Poison control centers recommend keeping hand sanitizer out of reach of children, same as other potentially harmful substances.

Because many hand sanitizers come in bright packaging and are perfumed (including grape, cherry, and other sweet scents), young children are sometimes tempted to taste them (and older kids and teens may try to get a buzz from them). A lick of the hand is unlikely to cause a problem, but more than a taste can be cause for concern.

And while we tend to think about poison control methods at home, parents of small children should also be alert to hand sanitizer dispensers in public. The French Poison Control Center reported an increase in the number of children with eye injuries in 2020, with hospital cases entirely by children under age four.

The dispensers, though at waist height for adults, are at eye level for small children, who can accidentally squirt the substance into their eyes.
March 21-27 is National Poison Prevention Week, a good reminder to stay vigilant against the obvious and not-so-obvious dangers around us.