All hand sanitizers are NOT created equal.

During the worst of the pandemic, in and around New York City where I was quarantining, I couldn’t buy enough hand sanitizer.  I only bought ones that contained 60% or more of isopropyl alcohol which I had read somewhere early on was the most effective at killing bacteria and germs.  Of course, anything with isopropyl alcohol was almost impossible to come by. I wasn’t interested in hand sanitizers with lavender, lemongrass or thyme – I wanted the hard stuff.

                                                                                                             image from The Street.com

Like hand sanitizers, alcohols are not all the same.  Ethanol and isopropyl alcohol are the only approved, safe and effective types of alcohol that you should be using as hand sanitizers or ingredients in hand sanitizers.

Recently the FDA came out with a warning about hand sanitizers that contain wood alcohol, also known as methanol.  You won’t know if the hand sanitizer contains methanol because it will not be listed in the ingredients since it is not an acceptable ingredient.  The label may say only alcohol.

Methanol is dangerous because as it is absorbed through the skin it becomes toxic.   Exposure to methanol can cause permanent blindness, seizures, coma, nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, damage to the nervous system and even death.

                                                                                                                        Alamy Stock Photo

Starting in July 2020 the FDA saw a sharp increase in hand sanitizers that are labeled to contain ethanol alcohol but in fact contained methanol.  The only way to know if a hand sanitizer is safe to purchase and use is to check the FDA’s constantly updated list of producers and products to avoid. As of early August over 100 brands of hand sanitizer on the market have been recalled by the FDA for containing methanol.

                                                                                Toxic hand sanitizer                                         Recalled hand sanitizer

Here is the most recent FDA list of manufacturers and products to avoid currently:

A list of the most recent hand sanitizer products added to the FDA’s list. (See here for a full list of all hand sanitizer products the FDA says consumers should not use.)

From The Washington Post

If you have purchased any of the recalled brands, you should dispose of it safely. Use a hazardous waste container or dispose as recommended by your local waste management and recycling center.  Do not flush or pour it down the drain or mix it with other liquids.