Calls to IWK's poison centre involving hand sanitizer more than double in 2020

The IWK's poison centre is warning Nova Scotians to take extra care with an item that's become ubiquitous during the pandemic after calls involving hand sanitizer more than doubled last year. 

In 2020, the centre in Halifax received 159 calls about people swallowing the substance or getting it in their eyes or on their skin. That's up from 58 calls in 2019 and 38 calls in 2018.

The majority of poisonings involving hand sanitizer are accidental, said Laurie Mosher, the centre's clinical leader.

She urges people to call the poison centre right away.

"Don't go on Dr. Google. Don't waste that time," she told CBC's Mainstreet.

"We can provide you with information before something bad does happen so that time is very critical for us to give you very precious information that could prevent damage."

The majority of the hand sanitizer calls last year — 57 per cent — involved children, while 43 per cent involved adults.

"Even adults sometimes have unintentionally taken a drink from a bottle that looks like a water bottle, believe it or not, thinking it was water so accidents do happen," Mosher said.

Strawberry pound cake flavour

Sometimes the label can make the product look like something appetizing.

"We did have a call and the flavour was strawberry pound cake," Mosher said. "I don't know where they purchased it from, but I don't recommend [it]."

Of the 159 calls in 2020, 79 per cent involved someone swallowing hand sanitizer, 11 per cent were for eye exposures and 10 per cent for skin exposures.

Hand sanitizers can contain up to 80 per cent alcohol and even small amounts can cause vomiting, drowsiness and low blood sugar, especially in children and the elderly, Mosher said.

Counterfeit products have also been popping up with dangerous ingredients such as methanol that aren't approved by Health Canada. 

Mosher said many parents may not realize hand sanitizer can impact their child's blood sugar levels. 

"So you want to call the poison centre right away if a young child gets into it, because we can determine if it's going to be a really concerning amount," she said, adding that it's also a good idea to give the child juice to stabilize their blood sugar.

Flush eyes for 10-15 minutes 

If hand sanitizer gets into the eyes, Mosher said to flush with water for 10-15 minutes while blinking. The water should be at room temperature.

"If it's a child and they cry, that's actually great. Tears in the eyes are great," she said.

Mosher said it's important to wash with water for several minutes because "it stings quite a bit and the gel sticks to your eyes so the longer you flush the better."

She recommends supervising small children while they're applying hand sanitizer, and to store bottles in a place where they can't reach them.

"If you have to send your child to school with hand sanitizer, I would recommend using like a pump or a flip cap and send them with small packaging sizes. Don't send them with a great big bottle to school," she said.

Mosher also advises people to keep these products in their original bottles so they're not mistaken for something else.

The IWK Regional Poison Centre can be reached at 1-800-565-8161.