Beware Dangerous Hand Sanitizers

These days we have all become aware of the importance of personal hygiene. One of the more common suggestions is to keep your hands clean. When you’re not in a place where washing your hands is convenient, you can use hand sanitizer. Because of the pandemic, early on it was hard to find hand sanitizer in stock. Some consumers resorted to making their own at home. Many of those home-made products were ineffective because of the lack of the correct ingredients. According to FDA.gov, “CDC recommends consumers use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol”. To meet the demand various companies jumped on the bandwagon and began producing hand sanitizer. Buyers need to be very careful when purchasing these products. Recently the FDA alerted consumers not to use any hand sanitizer manufactured by Eskbiochem SA de CV in Mexico, due to the potential presence of methanol. Methanol is a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested says the FDA. The FDA warns against using products produced by Eskbiochem which include the following:

• • All-Clean Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-002-01)
  • Esk Biochem Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-007-01)
  • CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-008-04)
  • Lavar 70 Gel Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-006-01)
  • The Good Gel Antibacterial Gel Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-010-10)
  • CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-005-03)
  • CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-009-01)
  • CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-003-01)
  • Saniderm Advanced Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-001-01)

The FDA states, “Consumers who have been exposed to hand sanitizer containing methanol should seek immediate treatment, which is critical for potential reversal of toxic effects of methanol poisoning”. As of the end of June, Eskbiochem has not responded to the FDA’s request to remove these products from the market. So far only two distributors – Saniderm Products and UVT – agreed to recall Saniderm Advanced Hand Sanitizer.