Don’t drink hand sanitizer or bleach: Poison center calls up 20% during pandemic, CDC says

A preschool-aged girl was taken to the hospital after she drank an unknown amount of hand sanitizer out of a 64-ounce bottle, fell and hit her head, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said.

Her blood alcohol level was .27% — over 3 times the legal limit in most states, according to the CDC. The little girl recovered and was released 48 hours later, but her case illustrates the sharp increase in poisoning reported during the rise of the coronavirus in the United States.

Between January and March there were 45,550 poisonings reported to U.S. poison control centers , which is a 20% increase from years passed, the CDC reported. The rise in cases directly correlates with increased media coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., according to the CDC.

Children ages 5 and younger, who were poisoned by disinfectants like hand sanitizer, made up nearly half of calls involving disinfecetants in that time period, the CDC reported. Over 80% of calls involved people ingesting disinfectants, according to the CDC.

In response, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is calling on the manufacturers to add a bitter ingredient to sanitizers so people will be less likely to drink them.

People are also calling more to report poisonings involving cleaners like bleach — more than 28,000 calls in that three-month period involved cleaners, News 4 San Antonio reported. The CDC cited a case where an adult woman soaked her produce in bleach, vinegar and hot water, and ended up in the hospital because she inhaled the toxic fumes.

The CDC says people should not wash produce with anything other than water, not even soap.

Researchers say they can’t show a direct link between chemical exposures and the coronavirus pandemic yet, but the correlation is alarming, Science Alert reported. The biggest surge in calls to poison control centers occurred at the beginning of March this year, according to Science Alert.

In Oregon, one of the most reported issues was people mixing bleach with water in a random container, like a soda can or water bottle, and leave it out in the open, KOIN 6 reported. Another household member will drink the solution, thinking it’s just water, according to KOIN 6.

After President Trump’s suggestion that ingesting cleaning products or applying a “very powerful light” to the body to kill the coronavirus, Lysol, the Centers for Disease Control, lawmakers, doctors, and Twitter users warned people not to do so. 

“I see the disinfectant where it knocks [the coronavirus] out in a minute, one minute,” Trump said during a daily White House coronavirus briefing last week. “And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it’d be interesting to check that.” 

No, it wouldn’t. And by Friday, Lysol, the CDC, and others stepped in to emphasize that you should not drink or inject disinfectant. 

The CDC tweeted, “Household cleaners and disinfectants can cause health problems when not used properly.” While Lysol took a more firm stance in response to “recent speculation and social media activity.” 

“As a global leader in health and hygiene products, we must be clear that under no circumstances should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion, or any other route.)” 

When pressed about the remark during a bill signing last Friday, Trump claimed, “I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen.”

Kids bored during the coronavirus lockdown have been warned to steer clear of the toxic TikTok “nutmeg challenge”.

Just a teaspoon of the cooking spice can “cause significant stomach pain, vomiting, racing heart, confusion, drowsiness, agitation and hallucinations,” say poison experts.

One girl who filmed herself swigging 12g of nutmeg from a cup said it “didn’t taste bad”.

In an update “three hours later” on its effects she claimed: “I can’t move my head.

“It’s like superglued to the wall; I’m so confused, oh my God.”

The New South Wales Poisons Centre in Australia warned parents about kids ingesting the potentially lethal spice on TikTok and social media.

On Facebook, it described the video sharing service’s nutmeg challenge as a “dangerous game”.

And in Ireland, a warning has been issued on fly infestations ahead of the summer months. Due to the current lockdown restrictions, many buildings, such as offices, shops and some homes, may be empty, allowing pests to proliferate.

Champagne and cupcakes, Trailer Park Boys, and hand sanitizers in massage practices

Holidays are all about tradition.

And nothing says tradition more than the Canadian TV show, Trailer Park Boys.

Amy and I have a polar bear that guards the compound during the long winter nights; we have champagne and cupcakes for birthday parties, and every Christmas Day, we gather round the hearth with whoever’s left in town, and watch the Trailer Park Boys Christmas Special.

Trailer Park Boys is a popular Canadian comedic mockumentary television series that ran from 2001 – 2007 and focused on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents — primarily Ricky, Julian and Bubbles (right) — living in a fictional trailer park located in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

In the 2004 Christmas Special, Ricky interrupts the midnight mass to share the true meaning of the season:

“Sorry to interrupt, but I just had one of those brain-learning things pop into my head. …  What is Christmas? I just got out of jail, which was awesome, you know, they don’t have presents and lights and tress, we just get stoned and drunk, it’s the best time. And I get out here and I’m all stressed out. … That’s not what Christmas should be, you should be getting drunk and stoned with your friends and family, people that you love. … That’s Christmas. … Getting drunk and stoned with your families and the people that you love. And if you don’t smoke or drink, just spend time with your families. It’s awesome. Merry Christmas.

My mom and daughter Courtlynn spent the weekend in Manhattan (Kansas) for a little holiday cheer and to help celebrate Sorenne’s first birthday, and while we didn’t get drunk or stoned, we did just spend time with our family and friends.

My other favorite Christmas movie, Mystery, Alaska, features Russell Crowe as a hockey-playing sheriff in the town of Mystery, Alaska. The 1999 movie has nothing to do with Christmas but oozes a Jimmy Stewart kind of sentimentality as a fictional small-town hockey team plays a game against the New York Rangers.

One of the best segments is Canadian Mike Myers (party on, Garth) as play-by-play analyst Donnie Shulzhoffer, who asks during one of the breaks, “Anyone know where a guy can get a rub and a tug in this town?”

Which raises a question: should hand sanitizers be used in a massage parlor, or by massage therapists?

The Institute for Integrative Healthcare Studies has concluded – maybe.

With the rising popularity of hand sanitizers, some therapists are opting to rub an alcohol-based gel between their hands in lieu of scrubbing with soap and water. While hand sanitizers have revolutionized how we practice infection control, it may not always be the best choice for massage therapists.

Bodyworkers’ hands function as their primary tools. Because their tools are reused on each and every client, keeping their hands free of pathogens is a prerequisite to being a responsible therapist. Bodyworkers must wash their hands:

· Before and after eating
· Before and after using the restroom
· Before and after each interaction with a client

At first thought, bodyworkers may think that hand sanitizers save them time during their requisite hand cleansing. However, further investigation shows that this assumption is not accurate. In addition, hand sanitizers may kill most types of bacteria and viruses but they are not sufficient for removing body fluids from the hands. Thus, the old-fashioned approach using water, soap and a towel remains the preferred way for massage therapists to achieve clean, hygienic hands.

Happy Birthday, Sorenne, and thanks to everyone who came by for champagne and cupcakes.

Hand sanitizers and cleaning mean fewer kids home sick from school

New research in the journal Pediatrics has concluded that,

"A multifactorial intervention including hand sanitizer and surface disinfection reduced absenteeism caused by gastrointestinal illness in elementary school students. Norovirus was found less often on classroom surfaces in the intervention group. Schools should consider adopting these practices to reduce days lost to common illnesses."

Wonder if it would work for restaurants.

Hand gels alone may not curb infections

Medical workers in a Nebraska hospital nearly doubled their use of alcohol-based gels, but their generally cleaner hands had no bearing on the rate of infections among patients, according to a new study in the January issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

Dr. Mark Rupp, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center pointed to many villains: Rings and fingernails that are too long and hard to clean, poor handling of catheters and treatment areas that aren’t sanitized.

"Hand hygiene is still important, but it’s not a panacea. … There are many factors that influence the development of hospital-acquired infections. It would be naive to think that a single, simple intervention would fix this problem."

The findings of the new study were based on 300 hours of hand hygiene observations of nurses and doctors in two comparable intensive care units over a two-year period.