Increase in queries reported over poisoning from hand sanitiser

There was a large increase in the number of people enquiring about poisoning related to hand sanitiser last year, according to new figures released by the National Poisons Information Centre (NPIC) today.

The centre received 340 calls in relation to hand sanitiser from March to July of last year, a five-fold increase when compared to the same period in 2019.

The majority of enquiries related children being “accidentally exposed” to hand gels with high ethanol concentrations, and over 80 per cent of cases involved ingestion.

Last year, some hand sanitisers were withdrawn from the market due to the presence of methanol, which generated additional calls to the NPIC from concerned individuals.

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The body said it and other poison centres around the world experienced an increase in poisoning enquiries relating to hand sanitisers and bactericidal and virucidal cleaning products as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A total of 268 enquiries were received in relation to disinfectants, with more than 80 percent involving ingestion.

Six hundred and eight queries were received about cleaning products overall, making them the fourth most common agent in cases of potential poisoning.

Paracetamol, alcohol and Ibuprofen were the top three agents most commonly associated with queries to the centre.

Just over two-thirds of all queries in 2020 involved children and adolescents, and those aged between one and four accounted for 45 per cent of all queries.

The figures were contained in NPIC’s annual report for 2020, which is based on data collected from enquiries from the public, healthcare professionals and others.

There were 11,687 enquiries made to the centre last year, a slight decrease when compared to 2019.

A little more than half of these calls were made by the public, and the rest were from healthcare professionals.

Just over a third of enquiries related to accidental poisonings. A further 15 per cent were due to medication errors, 11 per cent were due to intentional poisonings and overdoses, and 1 per cent related to recreational drug abuse.

Almost half of poisonings were caused by drugs, including medications and drugs of abuse. The most common illegal drug used by callers was cocaine.

Twenty per cent of poisonings were caused by household products such fabric detergents and multi-purpose cleaners, and a further 17 per cent were caused by industrial agents including alcohols, corrosive substances, essential oils and hydrocarbons.

A total of 152 poisoning cases were followed up by the NPIC on account of their severity, and nine people died.